Watch Me Fly
by SaphireWaves
Summary: Naminé decides to play matchmaker for her best friends while juggling her new friendship with Roxas. But there's something odd with the way Roxas acts around, well, everybody. Namixas Sokai
1. A New Friend

I need to meet more people.

I am absolutely serious. Here I am, a twenty-five-year-old woman who is unemployed, only interacting with two people in the past year. I've never had the best social skills. and my conversation starter is the weather, for crying out loud. My only friends at the moment are Sora and Kairi, who seriously need to get together. Sure, I'll become the third wheel, but I really want to see them start going out.

I mentioned I'm lonely and unemployed. Unemployed as well? How did this happen? Simple: I tried to become an artist, and I just didn't quite sell well enough to get a decent meal.

I become friends with Kairi in college. We were roommates, and we've remained this way till this day. Kairi and I became best friends easily, but I felt I've become too dependent on her lately. With me poor and penniless, I can't contribute to the bills at all.

Being friends with Kairi ended up meaning she would be supporting me till what seems like the rest of my life. I really don't want it to be this way, but I can't get out of my rut.

Sitting alone in the house while Kairi was at work, I browsed the internet for job openings. I've already filled out applications and made calls to many of them. All I had to do was wait to see if I'd be rejected or not.

I became curious to search up articles on how to make friends – yes, I was that desperate. When Sora and Kairi are gone to work, I spend my time pathetically alone. I've tried to make friends with their friends, but I end up coming off too...Naminé. That's the only adjective I can think of. Naminé.

I began to read an article about meeting new people.

_Draw From You Current Contacts. Try talking to friends of your current friends and bond! Maybe talk to someone at work as well. There are many conversation starters at the workplace. Try talking to a stranger as well._

As I mentioned before, I don't get along well with Kairi's friends, except Sora. See, Sora is Kairi's best friend and he comes over a lot. Apparently, they've known each other since they were kids but split in during their college years. During her college years, she dated a boy named Riku. They considered starting a family together and getting married, hence why she owns a house. She and Riku split up once she realized she didn't want kids like Riku did. She ended up getting the house (that I share with her now). By a twist of fate, Kairi met Sora again at her friend's wedding, which he was catering. They've been close again ever since.

Sora is a nice guy and can be a bit silly at times, but that's part of his charm. He has wonderful charisma that made you want to be his friend. He's also easy to get along with too, and I can definitely see why Kairi likes him.

You heard me correctly. I think – no, I know Kairi likes Sora. Sora also likes Kairi. It's obvious from their body gestures, conversations, and they're attitude with one another. I bet even a blind man could tell these two liked on another. I've prayed these two would finally just kiss and get married. In my eyes, they really do belong together.

Anyway, I should go back to looking at the article. I read the information one more time, taking in each word in front of me. I don't really work, so I can't really befriend a co-worker. I could just walk to a stranger, but what would I talk to them about? I sighed.

I then decided to go get the mail, as it should have come by now at this time. I went out the door and into the sunshine. Summer rays kissed my face as I proceeded to go toward the mailbox.

Standing next to it was our mailman, whose face I've become used to as he is always the one who delivers the mail. He was a slender blond with spiky hair and carried a introverted outer front. I don't believe I've ever seen him smile before. Who would when they deliver mail for a living?

"Hey," I said quietly. "Ah, I'm kind of right here, so you can just hand me the mail."

As usual, he ignored my comment and stuffed it in the mailbox. He began to go back into the truck to continue delivering mail. As I dug my hand into the mailbox, I wondered what his name was. Funny, the thought never occurred to me before. I was suddenly curious to ask him for his name.

_Try talking to a stranger as well._

I kept thinking to myself on whether I should say anything or not. Would I bother him? He doesn't seem to be someone with lots of friends, so maybe he'd like it if we talk. I finally decided to speak up right as he got into the truck.

"So," I began, "what's your name?"

He didn't seem to hear me, so I repeated my question louder. He turned to me, a bit puzzled. It's possible he doesn't get that question a lot. After all, not many people say hi to their mailman. I felt kind of excited now after realizing that fact.

He mumbled. "It's Roxas..."

"Cool, that's a cool name. Very cool," I said, mentally slapping myself for the redundancy in my statement. "I'm Naminé."

"Cool," was his reply. It made me wonder if he was mocking what I said a few seconds ago.

I looked to the sky. "Nice weather we're having today."

Why did I have to bring up the weather?

"Yes. Yes, it is nice weather."

"Great weather really. It's warm but not too warm, if you know what I mean," I told him. Wait, I said 'if you know what I mean' which _always_ implies something dirty. Mental slap number two. "No! I...uh...take that back. I'm not trying to hint at some sort of dirty joke or anything. Honest! It's just that..."

Roxas interrupted me. "I kind of have some more mail to deliver, so can we stop talking?

Right. He was working right now, which is something I should be doing. I nodded and waved goodbye as he drove off. I must have looked like an idiot to him. I couldn't believe I talked about the weather again.

Still, I wanted to be Roxas's friend.

* * *

"Hey!" I greeted, as I saw Roxas coming to give me our mail.

Roxas looked at me oddly. I was leaning against the mailbox, and it occurred to me I must have looked really strange. I quickly straightened up.

"Sorry. I was waiting for you," I explained. "I've been out here since I finished my breakfast."

Roxas stared at me. "Do you have anything better to do?"

"I do," I said defensively. I was still waiting for a response to one of my job applications. Other than that, I spent most of my time waiting for Kairi to come home. "It's just I really wanted to talk to you."

"Was there something wrong with your mail?"

"Well, no. I just wanted to talk. Like...the weather's nice today," I said lamely.

Roxas shrugged. "I guess." He then opened the mailbox and put our bills and letters in. "Are we done here?"

"I hope not," I said honestly. "We should talk more. I mean, it's great to talk to new people. We could have a daily routine where every time you come, we just talk."

Before I knew it, Roxas already retreated to his truck and drove off. I stood there frozen. Once it processed in my mind that Roxas just left, I silently fumed. This is useless. Who needs him as a friend? I should just give up.

* * *

"And he just drove off!" I said, telling Kairi what had happened.

We were sitting on the couch, eating some chips while our favorite sitcom was on and discussing Roxas. Sora was in the bathroom, doing his business.

She frowned. "He doesn't sound very nice. Why do you want to be friends with him? Besides, he's only the mail man. You should look for a friend somewhere else."

"I know," I sighed, "but for some reason, I just really want to get to know him. I mean, not many people really talk to their mailmen, right? Plus, he's so quiet. I just think he might be lonely."

"Aw, that's so sweet of you, Naminé, to think like that," Kairi smiled. "Why don't you try to find out what he likes? He might be more open to speak then."

"I can try."

Sora then entered the room and sat next to Kairi, quite close if I may add. He grinned and asked what we're talking about. When Kairi told him it was girl stuff, he pretended to gag. Kairi lightly hit him, both of them laughing. I smiled to myself, thinking "Why aren't they together yet?"

"Sora, we're out of chips. Can you go to the garage to get some more?" Kairi asked, handing him the empty bowl.

"Sure," Sora nodded. "See ya in a sec." He then got up and left the room.

With Sora out of the room, I decided to try and ask Kairi about what she thinks of Sora. I wanted to hear her confirm that she likes him. After all, it had always seemed obvious from her actions when he was around. Here goes nothing.

"Kairi, what do you think of Sora?" I finally asked.

Kairi turned to me, surprised. She stared at me for a moment. A smile appeared on her face suddenly. "Why do you want to know, Naminé?"

"Eh, I was just wondering...after all, I see you and Sora are...well, close. I'm just wondering what you think of him," I tried to explain.

"Naminé, are you crushing on Sora?"

What? Kairi's face was completely serious. This is a misunderstanding. Why did she have to misunderstand?

"No!" I said quickly. "I just...!"

Kairi grabbed my hand. "I'll completely support you. Sora is a much better match for you than your ex."

I cringed at her mentioning my disgusting ex-boyfriend.

"Sora is really sweet, and I think you two would make a good couple!" Kairi continued. "I'll be sure to have Sora notice your crush and return it."

"No! No! That's not it!" I said frantically.

"What's not it?"

Great, Sora's back. Kairi dropped my hands as soon as she saw Sora, and she feigned a look of innocence while smiling.

"Nothing," Kairi answered. "Well, I'm going to go now. You and Naminé can finish watching the show yourselves. See you guys later!"

Kairi stood up and headed out the door quickly, leaving Sora and I in silence. I quietly munched on the chips as Sora turned to me.

"What was all that about?" Sora asked.

"I have no idea."

* * *

"Good to see you, Roxas!" I said, holding up a bowl of macaroni and cheese.

Roxas stared at me, probably unsure how to respond. I handed the macaroni and cheese in his free hand. I smiled, feeling accomplished.

"Why are you giving me food?" he finally asked.

"You might be hungry."

"I'm _working_, in case you didn't notice."

I titled my head. "You can't be working _and_ hungry? Come on, it'll give you energy to continue your work day. I cooked it this morning, so it should still be warm. I added extra cheese too, so it should taste really good. I'm sure you'll love it."

"I'm lactose intolerant," Roxas stated.

Are you serious? "Sorry! I'll just take that back then..."

I reached to take it out of his hands. The moment my fingers touched his skin, Roxas jerked his hand away immediately, throwing the food into the air. The macaroni and cheese fell out of the bowl and onto the street. Roxas's body didn't move. I stared at the wasted food and sighed. Roxas shook his head and looked toward the ground.

"Why do you do this? Why do you stand out here waiting to talk to me? Why did you give me food?" he asked, refusing to look at me.

"Because I think you're lonely."

He looked at me then with a surprised expression on his face.

I continued. "Maybe you just don't like me, but I think you're not used to talking to people either. I understand that because I feel lonely sometimes too. So, maybe us two lonely people can hang out and then we both won't be lonely?"

Roxas was silent for what felt like the longest time. Finally, he said, "Sorry...so, you want to be friends?"

I grinned. "Being friends would be great!"

"So, what do friends do?"

"We can go over to each others houses or go to the movies. Maybe we can just go shopping together. We can do a lot of things and exchanging phone numbers is a good start," I said happily.

Roxas shrugged and went to take out a pen and a paper. As he grabbed a pen, he asked, "What's the first thing we're going to do now?"

I thought for a moment. Then, an idea hit me. "Let's get Sora and Kairi together!"

"...what?"

* * *

**A/N**: After much planning, I have an outline I like. In reality, most outlines I did had this story set in high school, but I managed to take it out of school. Come on, there are too many high school KH fics on this site. . This story will not be as sad as Disllusion and Lovefool. There will be no character deaths or character-not-really-real stuff. I'll try not to add any OCs. There's some drama, and there may be a cliché stuck in every once in a while. The title is inspired by a scene I read from a book recently, but now that I have an outline, it feels a bit ironic for the last chapter. I do not plan to end this sadly. I'm unsure of whether it'll be Romance/Humor or Romance/Drama. I'll see if the humor or the drama is heavier later on.

I had talked about this story a bit before. I toned down Naminé's Sokai craziness a bit. She does get a little crazier in later chapters. Darn it.

So I hope you like what you just read. Next chapter should be put up on Thursday. I hope to release a new chapter every Monday and Thursday, unless block occurs. Thanks for reading this so far. Reviews would be appreciated.


	2. A Boyfriend From The Past

Introducing Roxas to Sora and Kairi felt like introducing your boyfriend to your parents. It can get kind of strange, and there are times where you pray they won't talk about certain topics. We all sat down at the dining table in our kitchen. Sora and Kairi insisted on meeting Roxas, so I had invited him over.

"So what did you think of Naminé when you two first met?" Kairi asked, cheerfully.

"Well, I honestly thought she was a desperate, awkward woman who really wanted to get laid," Roxas answered.

_That's _what you thought of me? I gritted my teeth and held up a bottle of wine we had bought recently high in the air. "Hey, who wants some wine?"

Everyone raised their hand. I quickly took out glasses and poured some out for everyone, hurriedly placing each glass next to them. I was the first to drink, taking a small sip. Sora spoke next, seemingly interested in Roxas even more after his previous comment.

"Roxas, why did you happen to choose delivering mail as an occupation?" Sora asked. "Did you always wanted to be a mailman?"

Who always wanted to be a mailman?

Roxas shrugged. "It pays, and I don't talk really have to talk to anyone - well, up until recently. There's a lot of talking when I deliver mail now."

Okay, now I took a very large sip of wine. In fact, it wasn't even a sip; it was a gulp. Roxas, Sora, and Kairi stared at me. Don't stare at me when I'm drinking! I pounded the glass onto the mahogany table quickly, causing a loud thud and drawing unwanted attention.

"Don't drink too much right now, Naminé. We all know how much of a crazy drunk you are," Kairi said with a sigh.

Roxas turned to me with a puzzled look. "Crazy drunk?"

I twitched. "You know, I am _not_ a crazy drunk; I am the opposite of a crazy drunk. I'm the most reserved and quiet drunk ever. I don't do stupid things when I'm drunk."

"Really?" Sora said. "I have a video of you singing and babbling nonsense the last time you really got drunk on my cellphone right now. You kept screaming 'I love life' over and over again. My god, that was my best birthday party ever. The cake was good too."

I turned the Kairi, frantic at the fact Sora still had the video on his cellphone. "I told you to tell him to delete that video!"

"You are really cute in that video. I really miss the clothes your wore that night. After all, you vomited all over them when we got home and it never seemed to be clean enough," Kairi replied. "Sora, let me watch the video again."

Kairi leaned toward Sora to watch the video on his cellphone. They were so close that their cheeks were touching, earning a silent cheer from me. Kairi then moved away quickly, looking at me and mouthing "sorry" with an apologetic look on her face.

She still thinks I like Sora.

I shook my head vigorously, trying to get it through her head that I_ don't_ like him. She's the one he needs to go out with! Kairi moved even further away from Sora now. Did she misinterpret me shaking my head? I gritted me teeth and tried to make the hand gesture that tells someone to move closer. Instead, Kari stood up from her seat and shrugged.

"Sorry, I think I should go right now and make an important call to a co-worker. It was nice meeting you, Roxas," Kairi said, winking at me. She then left the room to go upstairs. Yes, this house is a two-story house. Kairi's a well-known fashion designer in Twilight town, and she gets payed a lot.

Roxas turned to me. "Why'd you tell Kairi to leave?"

"I was trying to tell me to move closer to Sora," I whispered back. "Wait, that was the hand gesture that tells someone to go away? What's the move closer hand gesture?"

Roxas sighed heavily. "This is pointless. And we're supposed the get these two together? How does this have anything to do with becoming friends?" Roxas asked me.

"We...can bond during this time playing cupid. It won't take too long," I tried to reason. "Look, Sora and Kairi are just meant to be together, so it'll be easy for us. They got invited to a party later tonight, and I thought maybe we should come."

"Why? They're going to a party together! Whoo! End of story."

I sighed. "Nothing will happen if we're not there. If you're not coming for Sora and Kairi, at least come to keep me company. I don't know anyone at these kind of parties, and they are _extremely_ boring without anyone to talk to. We might even bond and become closer friends."

Roxas took in a deep breath. "Fine."

* * *

I don't know Selphie very well. Selphie was Kairi's best friend from work, and she and I are in a small battle for the position of Kairi's best friend. When I came through the doors with Sora, Kairi, and Roxas, she stared at me, trying to remember my name despite the fact I see her every week when I go out to eat with Kairi. She greeted Sora and Kairi excitedly, and she seemed to fancy Roxas the moment she laid eyes on him. It was strange watching her flirt with a disinterested Roxas. Every step she took toward him caused him to take on back. He eventually jumped and hid behind me, earning me a cold glare from Selphie.

I pulled Roxas aside, away from Sora and Kairi, to tell him my plan to get my two friends together as a couple.

"Wait, didn't I tell you I wanted no part in this whole matchmaking thing?" Roxas groaned.

"You never exactly worded it like that."

"I just came because you said it would be fun and we'll become better friends."

"For someone who kept rejecting to talk to me, you sure are set on being friends with me now," I pointed out.

"That's because you said I could stop feeling lonely. But here I am in a crowd of people I don't know. Yup, I feel so loved here," Roxas said sarcastically.

I crossed my arms. "Why don't you go talk to someone?"

"I don't know anyone."

"Well, you didn't know me, and we talked. Now look at us now! We're arguing, and that's what friends do."

Roxas stared at me. "I kind of signed up for the getting along part of friendship. Not the 'let me rip your face off' times."

"Still," I said, "we're closer than we've ever been, and you can't deny that. It's all thanks to Sora/Kairi situation we have here. You're welcome."

"Are you insane?" Roxas retorted. He sighed and then shook his head. "You can have your Sora and Kairi together. Happy?"

Roxas stormed off towards Sora and Kairi. Sensing trouble, I quickly went to follow him. This can't be very good. Roxas greeted the pair and then offered to show them something. I watched as they followed him into the hall. Roxas opened the closet door and gestured for them to look inside. He then pushed both of them in and locked the door from the outside. My jaw dropped.

"Are _you_ insane?" I asked him.

"Not as insane as you," Roxas replied. His hand was shaking unusually. "Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom."

Roxas disappeared into one the rooms. I looked at the closet door where Sora and Kairi were trapped in. The first thought that came to mind was how unbelievably convenient it was for that closet to be able to locked on the outside. Aren't most closets in houses locked on the inside? It's like it was made for trapping people.

My second thought was to let Sora and Kairi out. But how often does something like this happen? In those TV shows, don't things develop greatly when the two love interests are stuck in a closed space? It was genius. Maybe I should let them stay in there.

No, a good friend would let them out and apologize for her rude friend's actions. On the other hand, a good friend would also try to help her friend get the guy. Deciding not to let them out, I hurriedly ran into the room Roxas went into.

It occurred to me right after I came in that he said he was going to the bathroom. Before I saw anything, I covered my eyes with my hands.

"I'm sorry for interrupting! I'm not a pervert or anything! Please don't charge me for sexual assault. I didn't mean to come in!" I yelled. "I'm really sorry!"

"Open your eyes. I'm just washing my hands."

I uncovered my eyes to see it was true; Roxas _was _washing his hands. Now, I felt embarrassed. My face turned a deep shade of red. I let out a nervous laugh, hoping Roxas wouldn't think I'm even more a crazy person. He probably did.

I noticed the unbelievable amount of soap Roxas was using on his hands. Bubbles were overflowing from the sink and onto the ground. Does he hate the environment or something?

"You shouldn't use so much soap. You're clean enough," I told him. "Why do you even need to wash your hands anyway?"

"Shut up," he mumbled. "My hands will never be clean enough."

"Yes, they will," I replied.

I reached toward him to pull his hand away from the sink. Instantly, his hand slapped my hand away. He refused to look at me, only staring at his hands in the sink.

"Don't ever touch me."

I slowly retreated out of the bathroom.

* * *

I didn't expect to see my ex-boyfriend at Selphie's birthday party. There he was, standing in the hall talking to some girl. My heart felt like it was being crushed as I thought about our past together. I don't exactly remember what I saw in him and his pink, shoulder-length hair, but it kept me with him throughout college. Once he saw me, he smiled and walked over to me. Oh boy.

"Marluxia, it's nice to see you again," I lied.

His blue eyes widened slightly. "Oh? So...how are Sora and Kairi doing?"

I flinched and decided to keep my answers short. "They're fine."

"You look so much more prettier now than in college, Naminé. You know, I've been thinking about you ever since we broke up," Marluxia whispered softly.

You were talking with some girl a few seconds ago. Of course you're still hung up over me. "I should go. Sora and Kairi are probably..."

I couldn't finish what I saying because he suddenly wrapped his arms around me. I inhaled the familiar smell of his cologne and the alcohol he had drank. Any feelings of loneliness I felt disappeared for a brief moment as memories flooded my head.

"I can't," I exhaled, pushing him away. "Let go of me. I don't need you to anymore. I'm sick and tired of using you, and I'm sick of being used by you."

"Sure, we were using each other, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't continue where we left off. After all, I'm the best and only guy you'll ever manage to get. I don't see any guys lining up for you."

That is it. "I actually am on a date with someone right now. We've been going steady for quite some time. I guess I can do better than you." Lies seemed to come out easy from my mouth.

"Oh? Who is this guy then? I highly doubt you're telling the truth," Marluxia said, skeptically.

Just then, the bathroom door opened revealing a certain blond boy, drying his hands. I instantly ran up to Roxas and linked arms with him.

"Him. This is Roxas, my current boyfriend," I told my ex-boyfriend.

Roxas then turned to me with an expression that said, "Let go of me. Didn't I say no touching? Also, are you crazy? _Boyfriend_?"

I dragged Roxas away from Marluxia as fast as I could. The entire time we were walking, I could hear Roxas muttering, "She's touching me. She's touching me. Why_ the hell_ is she touching me?"

Once we were far away from Marluxia, I stopped. Roxas immediately jerked his arm away from me, yelling at me for touching him. That's the first thing he asks? Not even a word about the boyfriend yet?

"Now, I have to wash my hands again," Roxas grumbled. "...so who was he?"

"He who?"

"Pinky."

I looked away, trying to avoid eye contact with Roxas. "He's just an old boyfriend I dated in college."

"Ah," Roxas said, like he now understood everything, "why'd you two break up?"

I bit my lip, thinking about how I rather not talk too much about him."I guess I realized we were just using each other. I thought that if that's the only reason we're together, why don't we just break up? It wasn't easy to break up with him though...why is he here?" I fumed.

When I looked at Roxas, I couldn't help notice that Roxas was _smiling_. Huh. I don't think I've seen this before. He had a really nice smile - even odder that he's smiling when I'm telling him about Marluxia and I breaking up.

"Why are you smiling like that?" I asked, curious. "I'm telling you about a failed relationship here."

Roxas shrugged. "I know. It's just...this is the first time we talked so personally. I don't know much about making friends, but I think that's how it starts. You told me we're going to be friends, but we're just focusing on other people. Don't we have to focus on each other so we can learn more about each other? It's kind of been bugging me all night. I'm sick and tired of still having no one to talk to." He then narrowed his eyes. "Don't you dare tell me try to talk someone else. Do you know how much courage I had to muster up just to come here? You expect to walk up to someone and say hi right off the bat? I need time."

I stared at Roxas, feeling bad I made him feel alone tonight. Becoming friends was supposed to make sure we both won't be lonely. I took in a deep breath.

"My favorite color is white. Your turn."

He raised an eyebrow, seemingly confused. "Black. My favorite time of day is twilight."

"Sunset. My favorite TV show is Teenage Wasteland."

"Same," Roxas smiled once more.

We talked until the end of the party.

* * *

After leaving the party with Roxas, I completely forgot about Sora and Kairi until next morning. I hurriedly went to Selphie's house, hoping to find them there. Maybe some development went on? Are they finally together?

Once Selphie let me in after I said I forgot my jacket, I raced toward the closet, opening it in hopes of seeing Sora and Kairi cuddled up next to one another. Instead, I see them playing Speed with a deck of cards.

"Oh, hey, Naminé! You won't believe how many games there are in this closet," Kairi said. "It looks like I'm winning again."

"Give me a break, Kairi!"

My friends are hopeless.

* * *

**A/N**: Thanks for all the reviews for the first chapter! They all made me happy, and I'm glad you liked the first chapter and little awkward Naminé. The advice was very nice as well. Sadly, awkward Naminé starts to disappear a bit, but she comes back not too long after. Here's an update on Thursday! I wonder how long will i be able to keep up consistent updating. Hmm...

Maybe drop a review telling me what you thought of this chapter? I hope to update again on Monday!


	3. A Book Can Help

I hovered my finger over the last number of Roxas's phone number, trying to gather up the courage to press it. Come on, Naminé, you can do it! I pressed the last digit and hit the Talk button quickly, slamming the phone to my ear.

"M-may I speak with Roxas? Is he there?" I asked as loud as I could.

"…Who _else_ would answer this number? I don't even live with anyone else, so if someone picked up to this number, you're _probably_ talking to him!"

Ah, that was the Roxas I knew. "I was wondering if you wanted to go the library together. I want to check out some books, and it'd be nice not to go alone."

"When do you want to meet up?"

I thought for a bit. "Right now."

"Are you serious?" I could hear him sigh over the phone, probably muttering words minors shouldn't hear. "I got it, I got it. I'll see you right after I finish what I'm doing right now. Bye."

"Oh? I was interrupting something? A-ah! Sorry, for bothering you!" I said before I heard the dial tone, indicating Roxas had already hung up.

* * *

I waved to Roxas, who arrived at the library about half an hour after I did. He ran up to me and explained he had to finish cleaning his apartment before leaving. We entered the library quickly after this exchange.

"So what kind of book are you looking for?" Roxas asked me.

"A romance. I'm looking for a love story between two friends who've known each other forever. I need to find a really good one too," I replied.

Roxas sighed. "That sounds a bit familiar." He narrowed his eyes. "Please tell this isn't related to the Sora and Kairi in anyway. Don't lie."

I gave a nervous laugh. "PFFT. What makes you think that this has anything to do with Sora and Kairi? It's not like I'm going to read these books and use them to get Sora and Kairi together or something stupid like that."

"Alright, I'm out of here," Roxas said quickly, walking back to the glass doors.

I tried to grab onto his sleeve, only remembering his no touching rule until after I grabbed it. He immediately did a 180 turn and jerked his arm away, stumbling over and knocking down dozens of books to the ground. The library staff all shot simultaneous glares instantly. Roxas let out a nervous chuckle and offered to clean it up himself.

"You're staying, I see. Fate, perhaps?" I teased.

"Bite me."

* * *

I watched as Roxas put away all the books back into the shelves with a sullen expression on his face. I felt bad for teasing him now, having the urge to apologize to him. I sighed, trying to think of the right words to say.

I was taken by surprise when Roxas threw a book toward me. I managed to catch it before it hit my face. Looking at the cover, I saw a couple holding hands.

"You were looking for those kind of books, right?" Roxas said, still facing the shelves.

I nodded slowly. "T-thank you, Roxas. I'm sorry for teasing you and tricking you into this situation." I bowed. "I'm really sorry!"

Roxas remained silent, examining each book he picked up before putting them away. He was probably still looking for more books. I smiled to myself, thanking the heavens I knew someone like Roxas. I rushed toward his side and helped him put away the books.

"You're really nice, Roxas. Do you know that?"

Roxas ignored my comment and continued the search for a book for Sora and Kairi. He really was working hard. I opened my mouth to thank him again, but I felt afraid he'd be annoyed I said it again. Instead, I started a new topic.

"Let's play a game. We ask questions to one another and have to answer absolutely truthfully, even if the question is really hard to answer," I suggested.

"Why would I want to play a game like that?" he mumbled.

"Because," I said, "it'll be fun. Plus, we'll get to know each other better. We're going to be friends, right? I'll start. What do you do in your free time?"

"Stuff."

I pouted. "Be specific. Otherwise, this game is pointless."

"It's already pointless."

I sighed. "Okay, I'll ask a different question. Were you always so mean like this? I bet you were a happy-go-lucky child until you found out Santa isn't real."

"For the record, Santa is real," Roxas retorted.

Noted.

Roxas was quiet for a second, thinking just a bit. "I was always like this, alright? It didn't just happen because I found out something I didn't want to know. I think it was just everything that went on in my life was on top of me, and I felt like I was drowning. I had no help from my family at all."

"Your family?" I asked, curious.

"Excuse me, it's my turn for the questioning. May I ask why you're so obsessed with Sora and Kairi and try to get them together? Meddling never leads to anything good."

My eyes widened at his question, sparking on old memory I'd like to forget and rendering me speechless. My mind went back to my college years. I could clearly remember Marluxia's touch and him pinning me down. Our short breaths in the darkness were the only things that could be heard. As his sweat fell onto my face, Marluxia's face bent down next to mine. I remembered tears overflowing from eyes and the feeling of regret and grief. His voice whispered in my ear, "You'll never be alone again, Naminé."

"Are you okay?"

My vision returned and I saw Roxas looking at me, concerned. I nodded, clearing my throat while I pushed my bangs behind my ear. I didn't want to answer Roxas's question yet, deciding silently to tell him everything later.

"You don't need to answer," Roxas mumbled.

"O-okay."

We stopped talking to one another.

* * *

On my way home, I received a call from Kairi. I put her on speakerphone as I drove the car, keeping my eyes on the road. Kairi began to explain that she didn't have a ride home today because Selphie ended up leaving early and I had the car. She then went on to tell me very unnecessary details about her day, ranting on about how work was killing her.

"I'll be there soon, okay?" I told her.

But as I hung up the phone, I realized that this scene reminded me of a book I had checked out of the library. I had skimmed through the book before checking it out, so I recognized this scene. Once I hit a stoplight, I took the book off the seat on my right and tried to find that scene before the light turned greened.

Apparently, in the book, a friend of the main guy character convinced the main guy to pick up the main girl character to go to their meeting. The guy and the girl ended up becoming closer during the car ride. I smiled while quickly reading it. My smile disappeared once I heard honking noises from behind me. I looked up and noticed the light turned green.

* * *

In his apartment, Sora was lounging around the leathery couch around the time he received a phone call. Once it began ringing, he immediately grabbed it and asked who it was.

"Hey, Sora. No time to talk right now! I just want to say Kairi needs a ride home, and I want you to drive over to her work to pick her up!"

Sora was dumbfounded. "What? I don't even know where she works!"

"I'll text you the directions. Don't worry, Sora, and just go there already. She's going to be upset if she waits too long!"

All Sora then heard the dial tone. He felt like a ton of bricks fell on top of him. Shaking his head, Sora jumped off the couch and grabbed his coat, dashing out the door to his car. In his car, he received the text with the directions to Kairi's workplace.

After driving for twenty-five minutes, Sora found Kairi's workplace. He was surprised to see such a large building, but he should have expected such a edifice for the home of one of the most popular clothing brands around. Sora's eyes scanned the structure until he noticed Kairi waiting outside on the small bench, looking bored to death.

"Kairi!" Sora called from across the street.

Kairi quickly sat up and looked at Sora, sighing with relief and waving to him. Without even looking both ways, she ran across toward him. Once she reached him, he scolded her for not looking both ways. Kairi wrapped her arms around him and apologized, also thanking him for coming. His cheeks turned a shade of pink.

"No problem," Sora smiled. They both got into the car, putting on their seatbelts immediately. Sora turned to Kairi. "Naminé told me to come and get you."

"Really now?" Kairi said. "I called her to come pick me up and she had you do it? I wonder what's going on with her. Maybe she's with Roxas? It's really great that she's made a new friend like him."

Sora laughed. "Yeah, you can really tell she's happy when she goes off with him. It might just be me, but I think I could see them going out someday." He started up the car and began driving. "He's…not a bad guy, so I wouldn't be bothered like how I was when she was dating Marluxia."

"Marluxia was _horrible_. If she felt like that, she could've told us!" Kairi agreed. Her voice became softer. "It kind of hurt me that she didn't tell me. I knew she wasn't in the best of places at that time, but I never really thought she felt that bad. It looks like she's actually happy with Roxas though, so he'd be a better boyfriend." Kairi then shook her head. "I mean, Roxas would be better as a friend…Sora, what do you think of Naminé?"

"Naminé? She's nice and all. She's very funny too! I cannot stop watching that video of her drunk. We really need another party like that," Sora chuckled at the memory.

"But what is she to you?"

Sora raised his eyebrow, resisting the urge to turn and face her as he was still driving. "Why do you want to know? Eh, I guess she's like a sister to me. She's just someone you want to take care of us. I remember the moment I met her very clearly. I kind of had a crush on her face a while too."

Kairi stared at Sora. Her heart suddenly sank for a moment. "…oh. So, she's like a sister to you now. That's…nice." She realized she almost sounded relieved, and instantly, she felt guilt take over. She shook her head. "Um, do you remember what you thought of me? I'm kind of curious."

"We met in first grade, Kairi. What do you think I thought of you?"

"I don't know! That's why I'm asking…"

Sora thought for a moment, trying to bring up the memory of their first meeting. "I think I thought you were cute. You had medium length hair at the time, and I thought it really looked nice on you. Though I think when you had short hair in junior high is when you looked the best. Ah…" Sora's face turned a bit red. "Anyway, I thought you looked nice and cute in first grade."

Kairi's eyes were glued to Sora, and she tugged at her now long auburn locks. She made scissors with her fingers and pretended to cut her hair. "Huh."

"It's my turn now! What did you think of me?" Sora smiled, hoping for a funny answer.

"You kind of looked stupid," Kairi said honestly. Just as Sora jaw dropped, she laughed. "You were eating a box of crayons! Am I supposed to expect you were Einstein?"

"Oh, and you think Einstein didn't eat crayons?"

Kairi shrugged and looked out the window, seeing butterflies fluttering in the air. "Who knows?"

* * *

"So how did it go?" Roxas asked me.

Roxas and I were at the house in the kitchen. We were munching on some cookies I baked while discussing how the plan went. It seems both of us failed.

I frowned. "I actually don't know. Kairi isn't home yet, so I think it went really well. I'm really glad about that they're becoming even closer now." I then bowed. "I'm sorry for involving you in this."

Roxas stared at me for a brief moment. I must have done something weird. I mentally slapped myself. I'll never have friends at this rate if I keep doing weird stuff. I sighed heavily, trying to think of what to say to get the weirdness out of the air. Roxas spoke instead.

"So what's your next idea for a plan?" Roxas asked.

I shrugged. "Maybe, as a mailman, you can look through their mail and find something. Or maybe you can put in a fake love letter in both of their mailboxes. That would definitely get things rolling!"

Roxas narrowed his eyes. "You know that's illegal, right? I can't just look through their mail."

"Like you've never done something illegal before."

"You have?"

"Yes," I replied. "I downloaded my favorite song for free off the internet. I didn't want to buy the whole album just to hear the song. I've done something illegal, so you probably have too."

Roxas shrugged. "I guess I was a part of something that could be considered illegal..."

"What did you do?" I asked, curious.

Roxas smirked and took a bite of another cookie. "That's for me to know and you to _never_ find out."

* * *

**A/N**: I had to rewrite a lot of this chapter, actually, because I realized I focused too much on Namixas XD So some Kairi/Sora bonding? Mmhm. The whole car ride thing actually happened to my sister. Brian's friend tried to set them up by calling up Brian to have him pick up Jennifer. Brian and her weren't really that much of friends until the car ride. As for what happened later, they did go out, but then came in Jennifer's former crush who liked her now. It became a whole dramatic love triangle, and she ended up choosing her former crush instead of Brian. o.o; Sorry this chapter isn't as funny as the last one. The next one they're going to a convention though! Thanks for reading this chapter, and maybe drop a review? See ya next Thursday.


	4. A Day At A Convention

"A convention?" Roxas asked to confirm what I had just said.

I nodded. "Sora is a big comic book geek while Kairi was into anime in college and still occasionally plays video games. It's perfect. They would love to go to this convention. Some of their favorite voice actors are coming as well."

Roxas and I were talking outside as I was getting my mail. Or rather, I was waiting all morning to talk him outside by my mailbox. I held up an advertisement for an upcoming comic and anime convention that was coming to town. The at-the-door registration fee was pretty cheap too.

"First off, if you have all the time in the world to wait for me here, why aren't you still looking for a job yourself? Second, do you even like comics or anime?"

"I got rejected for all of them so far," I admitted, frowning. "And I don't need to watch anime or read comics for this to work. I just need to supervise and make sure they realize their feelings, and I want you by my side to help push them in the right direction. You are my buddy in this after all."

"Rejected by all of them? How bad _is_ your resume? Or do you talk about the _weather_ the entire time and constantly repeat a word over and over again?" Roxas raised his eyebrow.

"That's not the point!" I fumed, my cheeks turning red. I let out a sigh. "The point is, we have to get Sora and Kairi to realize their feelings for each other. At a convention, it is totally possible because they'll be surrounded by things they love."

Roxas raised his hand. "Won't they be too distracted by things they're obsessed with that they won't pay attention to each other? A convention filled with geeks freaking out isn't the most romantic place in the world, you know. It's like making out at a garbage dump – definitely not romantic."

"Are you coming or not?" I asked, folding my arms.

Roxas shrugged. "Maybe."

He then went back into the mail truck and drove off, leaving me alone at my mailbox. I knew by now that "maybe" was Roxas's way of saying he'll go, but he doesn't want to actually agree.

* * *

"Oh...my...goodness!" Kairi squealed, jumping up and down. I knew she'd be into the whole thing, but I didn't expect her to be this happy. "Thank you for taking me here, Naminé. There are so many cosplayers and – oh, I see a Cloud! I see a Cloud!"

Kairi ran towards the cosplayer, leaving our group seconds after we've entered. Roxas and I stood amazed at all the merchandise there were. It also amazed me how many teenagers to adults, well in their forties, were there. Cosplayers also seemed to be everywhere at once. I didn't recognize a single one of them, but I admired the detailed designs I saw. When I turned to ask Sora if he recognized anyone, Sora was already buying some comics and limited edition figures.

"Yeah, I definitely see love blossoming between these two souls that were fated to meet one another in this world. Look, they are getting emotionally closer as their distance grows farther part," Roxas said sarcastically, faking tears of joy.

I sighed and gestured for him to follow me, suggesting we might as well do something here. We looked around at the dealers who were selling generic stuff instead of specific plush dolls and DVDs. The generic stuff we found first consisted of a fox hat, hairbands, necklaces, and such. I picked up a black hat with yellow eyes and weird long ears hanging from it. I placed it on my head and turned to Roxas.

"How do I look?" I asked, tugging at one of the long, zigzagged ears.

Roxas stared at me for a few seconds, eyes widening and mouth twitching. He finally decided to speak. "Creepy."

I pouted at his reply. How mean. Just to spite him, I decided to buy the hat. I dug through the bag I had on me and handed munny over to the dealer. Turning to Roxas, I smirked with pride. Roxas looked at me with an expression of astonishment.

"Why...?"

I smiled wider. "To creep you out."

We left to find another dealer, stopping at the one a few tables down. I walked up to the table and gazed at all the little charms, necklaces, and bracelets they had. A lot of them had characters on them while other simply had a generic phrase or design. I examined each one, debating whether to get one or not. I looked to Roxas, who was staring a specific key chain. I caught a glimpse of it, seeing it was a dragon design.

"Are you into dragons or something?" I asked him. "We could get it because I brought lots of munny today. After all, the best things about conventions are the stuff you can get."

Roxas shook his head. "I don't need it; I have already have thousands of dragon key chains. The other dragon figures I have in my apartment might feel hostile toward the newbie. Anyway..."

First, he has dragon figures that would _feel_ hostile to a _newbie_? I wondered if he was a leader of a dragon cult now. I also really need to get into his apartment now. "But you don't have _that_ dragon key chain, right?" I guessed, interrupting him. "Meaning: you want it very, very much."

Roxas shot a glare at me before continuing to speak. "Anyway, shouldn't you have brought a very, _very_ small amount of munny? After all, you're not making anymore because you're unemployed."

I felt as if a brick had hit my head. "You just have to bring that up..." I took in a deep breath before speaking. "I'll have you know..."

I was interrupted by Sora, who came running towards us waving bags filled with comics and other merchandise he bought. He excitedly talked about how some voice actor was doing a panel soon. He also asked to borrow the camera, which was in my bag.

"Please, I have to record this panel! This is the voice of the best character in my favorite series. He's been in a hundred titles, and I hear he'll be in the live action adaptation! Do you know how cool that is? He might even talk about the adaptation, so I need to get this on film," Sora explained. "Please, give me the camera."

I dug into my purse to find the camera. Sora yelled at me to be quick as the panel was starting soon. I ended up dumping half of the contents in my bag in Sora's hands, nearly causing him to fall over.

"It should be one of those. Find it and go!" I instructed.

Sora quickly ran, trying not to let anything fall from his hands. I laughed at how awkward he looked. Roxas even smiled. I wonder if I could make the rare smile not become rare anymore. I then remembered our conversation and decided to continue what I was saying.

"Right!" I said. "I'll have you know I'm very careful with munny, and I'm not a spendthrift; I'll be fine here. Plus, all my munny's in this bag."

I dug into the bag once more to take out my wallet. Surprisingly, I didn't see it there. I kept shuffling through all my things, wondering where it was. It was in my bag earlier when I paid for the hat I'm currently wearing. I dumped out the contents of my bag all on the floor, receiving some looks from other passing by. I still didn't see my wallet.

It finally hit me: I gave Sora everything else, including my wallet apparently.

"Oh, you are _definitely _great at handling munny. You won't be broke by the time Sora gives you back your wallet at all," Roxas said, sarcastically as always. "In fact, he'll probably come back with even more munny."

I nervously laughed. "Sora's not _that_ bad on holding onto munny, right?"

He was.

* * *

I had found Kairi in an intense conversation with fellow attendees, speaking of characters I've never even heard before with such excitement. I didn't know whether to approach or not.

"What are they talking about?" Roxas asked me in a whisper.

"I'm just as lost as you are."

Suddenly, Kairi' s phone rang, her eye twitching as she mouthed a word minors shouldn't hear. She gave a large smile and told whomever she was talking to that she had to take this call. Kairi flipped open her cellphone and greeted the person with energy. The energy she gave felt slightly artificial, if you ask me. The smile plastered on her face never seemed to go away as she talked. After the short conversation, Kairi seemed to have ended the call and noticed us.

"Hey, Naminé! Good to see you, Roxas!" she smiled. "Where's Sora?"

"I don't really know. I heard he was going to that panel with that one popular voice actor," I replied. "Sora seemed very excited about it. Maybe you should go over to the panel too? If you go now, I bet you can get a seat next to Sora!"

Roxas rolled his eyes at my suggestions. It seemed to me that he didn't approve of my need to get the two of them together.

"I would love to go," Kairi answered, "but I really need to go the restroom right now. I may be in there for a while, and the panel will probably be over by then. Why don't we all meet up in an hour at the cafeteria part of this place? We have to eat after all."

Roxas and I nodded. Kairi immediately ran away toward the restrooms. That ruined my idea for a possible moment between Sora and Kairi. It seemed they haven't interacting at all today, thus making this a huge disaster.

* * *

Roxas, Sora, and I sat at a table to eat. Well, we really didn't have much to eat. Roxas didn't bring any munny, not expecting the need to buy anything. I unknowingly gave all my munny to Sora. When I asked Sora if he had any munny left, I got:

"Eh? That was all your munny? I thought you'd have some in your pockets or something. I spent all of it on figures. Look, I have a Superbman one! I also got a Chiropteraman!" Sora dug into his pocket. "Wait, I have 10 munny!"

Great. We sent Sora to buy us whatever he could for 10 munny. I knew he wouldn't be able to get much, but I was certainly hungry. Turning to Roxas, I saw him wiping the table with a napkin vigorously. I raised my eyebrow, confused.

"It's dirty," he explained.

"Doesn't seem very dirty to me," I replied.

"Definitely dirty."

I shrugged and watched Sora come back with a small bag of potato chips. As I placed a chip into my mouth, I wondered where Kairi was right now. It had been an hour since we scheduled this, and she still wasn't here. Did she not know where the cafeteria was?

I munched on a couple chips before getting up to use the restroom. If Roxas insisted the table was dirty, I should wash my hands, just to make sure I didn't get sick. I opened the door and headed toward the sink. Strangely, I heard soft sobbing coming from one of the stalls.

"Hello?" I called out quietly.

The sobbing turned into sniffling and then it was dead silent. The girl who was crying seemed to have stopped now. I wondered what she was crying about. Perhaps she got into a fight with a friend; that would be terrible.

I washed my hands and exited the public restroom, heading back to Roxas and Sora.

* * *

In the end, it seemed nothing had happened. We spent the rest of the convention looking around and watching panels by people Roxas and I didn't know. There were a lot of fans shrieking and cheering when the person would talk using his or her character's voice. It got annoying and funny.

Roxas always seemed to come back and take a look at the key chain though. It was a pity he and I didn't have any munny on us at all. I frowned every time I saw him looking at it. Sora just _had_ to spend all my munny, didn't he? Who spends 500 munny on a Captain Japan figure?

I jumped at every single coin I saw on the ground unconsciously. I must have looked really strange and cheap, and it was a bit embarrassing now that I thought about it. By the end of the convention, I scraped up 25 munny worth. Grinning, I knew what I was going to buy.

* * *

"Here," I said, holding up the dragon key chain to Roxas. "You did want this, right?"

Roxas stared at me for the longest time. He slowly reached his hand for it, hesitating just a bit. I chuckled at how he was taking his time.

"Take it," I told him with a smile. "I can promise it won't kill you. It's not going to breathe out fire and all. This thing is perfectly safe."

Roxas took it into his hands, examining it. He then looked up at me. "Thank you."

I smiled. "You're welcome." I then pointed to the exit. "We should head out now. I called Kairi and told her to meet us there. Have you seen her at all today after the phone call? Sora said he never saw her at all. Do you know much the plan has failed now?"

Roxas shook his head. "Enlighten me."

"If they don't see each other, they can't bond and become closer. Thus, they will not go out and get married. Absolutely horrific, if you ask me."

We arrived at the exit, seeing Sora and Kairi. I was surprised she was finally here. Sora and her were chatting animatedly. Sora even handed her figure he had bought. I could see Kairi's cheeks faintly become pinker. She then hugged him, causing him to slightly turn pink.

"It wasn't a disaster. See?" Roxas whispered to me.

The smile on my face soon diminished once Kairi's phone began to ring again. She picked it up and talked, a false smile on her face once more. Once she hung up, Sora asked her who had called her.

"It was just my boss from work. Things are getting a bit hectic, and he wants me to work some more hours this month. It's no big deal," Kairi explained. "I'm kind of needed a lot now since the whole promotion thing earlier."

We accepted her explanation and headed home. Roxas talked to me how the dragon on the key chain has a very different look from most dragons and how it was a limited edition piece. It was fun seeing Roxas geek out about something for a change, and I was proud I was able to find out about this part of his personality. It was the one memory that stood out the most from our first and only convention together.

* * *

**A/N:** Superbman and Chiropterman are supposed to be Superman and Batman. I just didn't want to type of the actual names XD I've been to conventions before, several dedicated to anime and two dedicated to comics (though I'm not much of a fan of comics; I was going with my cousin). There was actually a scene I wanted to add here, but I thought it'd make the chapter too long. Plus, it really didn't fit. Not much development on Sokai here, but there were some Namixas moments. I also brought up another thing that'll come up in later chapters. Er, the munny thing is 100 munny = 10 dollars, I believe. So Sora only had a dollar to spend on the chips, and he spent fifty dollars on a figure. Apparently, munny's in corn form in this fic. Hope you guys liked this chapter.


	5. A Dinner To Remember

"And so, we're all going on a dinner date together!" I said, concluding my plan for today.

"Have you learned _nothing_ from your past plans?" Roxas asked me.

Roxas and I were at the post office, as Roxas was finally off from work. He did seem a bit irked that I followed him here, trailing his mail truck from the shadows. In my defense, I really wanted to share my plan as soon as possible.

I rolled my eyes. "I _learned_ that I have to make sure they have plenty of interaction. They need to bond over like interests and realize the other has always been there. They've known each other since the beginning of time after all."

"Really now?" Roxas raised his eyebrow. "Seriously, your obsession with getting them together is scary, and it's not even logical. Do you need to see a doctor?"

"I'm _fine_, Roxas. If you want something to happen, does there need to be reason?" I asked him, hoping to get him to stop questioning my motives.

"Well, there is always is, so I guess so."

I sighed. "Just go on the double date with me, okay?"

"A date?"

My cheeks turned red. "F-figure of speech! You know, how we're going along Kairi and Sora as a pair; it's _like_ a double date. However, it'll be a date for them, not us because we're buddies - super awesome buddies. The best buddies of Twilight Town. That's what I meant."

Roxas gave me a very confused look before he shrugged. "You know, I kind of want to tag along now. I know I won't be bored being around you, and I've been itching to eat out. So, I'll go...as long as you pay for my meal."

"Eh? Doesn't the _guy_ usually pay?" I asked, confused.

"Considering the guy is usually the one asking the other on a _date_ and treats the girl because he was the one who asked her out, you kind of have to pay for it all," Roxas replied.

"But you do know I'm broke _and_ unemployed. Right?"

"Yeah, I do," he smirked, walking away.

I folded my arms an sighed. Behind me, I heard a woman cackle like witch before casting a horrible spell (keep in mind I might be an unreliable narrator). I turned and noticed the long-haired brunette was staring at me and the almost-gone Roxas. She had a huge grin on her face, framed by her long bangs. She was wearing street clothes, so I assumed she just came to mail a package.

"Are you listening in on our conversation?" I asked, a bit nervous.

"Maybe," was her reply. "Your boyfriend seems to have you wrapped around his finger though. Not many guys make the girl pay."

"Roxas isn't like many guys," I answered. I paused, realizing what she had just said. "And Roxas? My boyfriend? He freaks out if I try to hold his hand. I doubt he's even interested in my that way. _I _don't even see him that way."

"Is that so? Then how do you see him?"

Was she seriously asking this? "I see him as a friend. If you'll excuse me, I should be going right now."

The woman smiled. "Have fun on your date."

"Not. a. date."

* * *

Roxas and I entered the restaurant with Sora and Kairi behind us. As Sora and Roxas talked went to look at the menu on the wall, Kairi and I sat down in the front to wait to be seated. My best friend turned and grabbed my hand. She examined it carefully, rubbing her soft hand against it.

"Your hand is so dry, Naminé," she told me.

Kairi took out a bottle of lotion and started rubbing it on my hands. My hands now felt slippery and slightly sticky. I wiped them on the long, teal skirt I wore. Kairi then turned to Sora, staring at him for a while. I could see a small smile on her face.

"Sora looks nice tonight, right?" I asked, trying to play cupid once more.

Kairi blinked once and turned to me. "Oh, you think so? I guess he does. Black always looks good on him. Just like when he was a kid." She shook her head, hitting the palm of her hand against her forehead. "Sorry, that wasn't nice of me, was it? He's yours after all."

I never did clear up the misunderstanding that I liked Sora, did I? "Kairi, I want you to listen to me very clearly. I don't like Sora in that way. In fact, I think you and him would be a much better couple."

"No, Naminé, you don't have to sacrifice yours feelings. You can get him to notice your feelings, and you two would the the cutest couple ever," Kairi insisted. "You don't have to say such things like that. I know you still feel bitter about your relationship with Marluxia, but if you go out with Sora, he'll cancel out all those bad memories. It'll be good for you."

"Kairi, do you really think I'm lying?" I asked her, looking into her blue eyes. "I don't need Sora to cancel out all those bad memories for me because just everything you guys do for me already does that. Meeting Roxas and watching you guys become closer is like a dream for me. I think you should go out with Sora."

Kairi stared at me for the longest time before taking in a deep breath and covering her face with her hands, faintly whispering, "Thank god. Oh my god, thank you..." She lifted her face and smiled at me. "Sorry for misunderstanding you, Naminé."

"It's alright," I told her. I then took a look at Sora who was still examining the menu, pointing at various pictures with Roxas drifting off. My eyes returned to Kairi. "You guys were really close when you were kids, right? Did you two ever seem to grow apart or was Sora always there, even when the boys started making fun of him that he was playing with a girl? After all, that does seemed to happen a lot in elementary."

"Sora," Kairi began, "was interesting. He'd make fun of me for playing with him. He still showed up at my house every morning to walk me to school. Even though we had no classes together in junior high, he talked to me every lunch and still went to school with me. In high school, we had more classes together, and we ended up doing everything as team. I even had a crush on him for a while."

"Did you ever tell him?"

"Gosh, no. He saw me as just a friend. Plus, I don't I was or am his type. He likes strong girls," Kairi explained to me.

My eyes widened. "Strong? As in you can lift heavy weights?"

"No. Strong as in emotionally I guess. I was crying once for some stupid reason, and when I stopped crying, my mom told me Sora already went home. Every time I started to cry, he'd bolt as fast as he could. Sora, himself, was not a crier. In all the years I've known him, he has never shed a single tear," Kairi sighed. "Me? I was always so emotional, and I was definitely a wreck. I'm surprised he still stayed as my friend."

"You're not an emotional wreck now," I mumbled. "You are totally his type."

Kairi gave a sad smile. "No, I'm still a wreck."

* * *

Once we all sat a table, we decided to order our food immediately, me only ordering water. Hey, I'm broke here. I cringed at the fact Roxas was ordering all the expensive food. This caused me to think back to the lady from before. Would a boyfriend really act like this? Unbelievable.

"Actually," I said, interrupting Roxas, "I don't think we're going to eat anything at all. In fact, we have an dentist appointment we need to attend. Totally forgot about it until now, but you two can eat dinner alone!"

I stood up and pulled Roxas from his chair and out of the restaurant. The arm I was grabbing started shaking vigorously along the way, like he was having a seizure. Roxas constantly tried to pull away from my grip. Once we were outside the restaurant, we both stopped. With his other hand, he shoved me away quite hard, if I may say. I rubbed my shoulder.

"Just get away!" He yelled. Roxas suddenly became quiet and stared at me for a second. His mouth opened slightly. "S-sorry. I...why'd you bring me out here? Weren't we going to eat dinner?"

I bit my lip, shaking my head. "No, I'm sorry I kind of took you by force. I should know by now that you hate being touched. Um, we're not going to eat. Sorry _again_. First of all, I'm broke and..."

"You thought I was making you pay?" Roxas asked, with a confused expression on his face.

"Yeah?" I said, like it was obvious. "You told me that earlier today. It's kind of part of our deal that you'd come here. I know how you hate my Sora/Kairi matchmaking plans. I just really wanted you to come and..."

Roxas pulled out his wallet and showed me plenty of bills. "I wasn't even going to make you pay a cent. I was prepared to pay it all myself, so I didn't come for some free food because I know you're broke. I came because I wanted to hang out with you. I don't care that it's a Sora/Kairi plan."

This caught me off-guard. "Really? Oh..." I pulled my hair back behind my ear. Why was I feeling a bit nervous? I stared into Roxas's azure eyes. They were a really deep blue. "Anyway, we don't really have to do much from here. After all, we're just waiting for Sora and Kairi to get closer to dating. I thought maybe we could go around town while we wait."

Roxas smiled. "That sounds nice, Naminé. You happen have the keys?"

"Yup!" I nodded. I dug into my purse to pull them out, only to find they weren't in there. I dumped the contents of my purse onto the ground just like at the convention before. "Err, Kairi may have them."

"We should go back and ask for it then," Roxas suggested.

"No!" I said sharply. "What if they're in a a heated moment right now? We can't interrupt. It'll ruin everything! For all we know, they could be kissing right now."

* * *

Kairi and Sora sipped their glasses of wine. With them alone, they simply chatted about whatever came up in conversation. Kairi acted naturally, unsure whether now would be the right time to confess. Instead, she told him interesting tidbits.

"And that's why he quit being the voice actor for Hydroman," Kairi concluded.

"Wow," Sora said in awe. "I never really liked Hydroman at all, so the fact he'd not getting his own animated series is alright with me"

Kairi nodded. "Did you also hear how Tidus's blitzball team is right now?"

"Do tell."

* * *

Roxas facepalmed. "You are a crazy woman, you know." He sighed and started walking down the street. "Come on. Let's go."

I nodded slowly, a bit surprised by his gesture. Ever since the day I met him, Roxas confused me a lot. I walked up side by side to him, trying to be close but not too close. I wouldn't want to upset him.

"So tell me, why do you want Sora and Kairi together?" Roxas asked.

You still want to know? "No reason in particular."

"Tsk. Tsk," Roxas said, shaking his head. "You have answered incorrectly. As punishment, you must answer all questions truthfully for the rest of this round. If you fail to do so, you are eliminated from the game."

"So this a game now?" I paused before answering. "Sora and Kairi are kind of like parents to me, I guess. They just give me the comfort of having mom and dad by your side. My parents divorced, and I want Kairi and Sora to have a happy ending. I don't want them to separate. It's a kind of stupid reason."

Roxas stared at me for a few moments. We stopped walking, looking each other in the eyes. "That's not stupid at all. That's kind of...deep in a Naminé way. You have more depth than I thought."

So you thought I was shallow? Also, don't use my name as an adjective.

"Are you so sure they are meant for each other though? You're not cupid," Roxas replied.

"I know, but I really hope they are meant to be together. It'd be nice to see them whisper sweet things into the other's ear, holding hands. I would love it if that happened."

Roxas frowned. "Whispering sweet things, eh? You do know that it takes nothing to say you love someone. You have to show it. After all, many people just say sweet things, but they don't mean it at all."

"I know," I confessed to Roxas. "I know that very well."

Roxas stared at me once more. "Huh."

"Roxas?"

"Yes, Naminé?"

I don't know possessed to me to suddenly ask, but it had just come out of my mouth. "What's your ideal woman?"

Roxas frowned. "You're not going to try to hook me up with someone, are you?"

I shook my head. "I'm just curious. That's all. Round 2. You must answer this question truthfully or you'll be eliminated. Answer carefully."

"What kind of stupid question is this? You really are trying to set me up with someone, aren't you?" Roxas then looked away. "I have no preferences really, if you don't count blue eyes."

"Blue? Why does she have to have blue eyes?" I asked, curious.

Roxas shrugged. "I don't know. You have blues eyes, the Sora/Kairi duo have blue eyes, Xion had blue eyes...it's just a something that keeps popping up to me."

"Xion?" This caught my attention. "Who is she? Do you like her or something?"

"Jealous?" Roxas chuckled. "Xion is just...someone from the past. No, I don't really like anyone at the moment. I don't think I've ever liked someone."

I gasped. "Not even a crush? What's with your hormones?"

"You're acting like I'm a big weirdo. You're weirder than me."

"Am not."

We continued walking around town, just talking about whatever came to mind. It was nice. Roxas smiled a lot more this time. Oddly, after talking to him, I did feel a bit jealous of whoever this Xion was. She knew a Roxas from a time I didn't. Was he any different from now? I wanted to know all the sides of Roxas.

* * *

Kairi and Sora were now eating desert, ordering a two slices of cake. Kairi cut a small piece of cake and placed it in her mouth, chewing it with pleasure. Sora was pigging out to his slice of cake. Kairi laughed at his lack of manners at the moment.

"Hey, Kairi," Sora called to her. "Do you ever get the feeling Roxas and Naminé are trying to get us together as a couple?"

Kairi nearly chocked on her cake. "Excuse me? Naminé and Roxas are trying to get us together? What makes you think that?"

"Well, Roxas pushed us into a closet together at a party, Naminé randomly told me to pick up from work, and now we're all alone at a restaurant."

Kairi now saw a connection between all those events. She decided to finally say it then. "So...what do you think...about us, you know, being together as a couple?"

Sora's eyes widened as his cheeks turned slightly red. "I...guess that...it would be cool if we were a couple, if that would be okay with you."

"A-ah," Kairi stammered, "I would think it would be cool too."

* * *

Roxas and I walked back to the restaurant, laughing at a stupid joke that made no sense. When we arrived, we felt something new in the air, at least I did. I was surprised to see Kairi and Sora walking out of the restaurant hand in hand, blushing to no end. It finally hit me: they were together.

"Mission Sora/Kairi: complete," I smiled.

Roxas turned to me with an expression I didn't quite understand. "So what do we do now?"

I wonder.

* * *

**A/N**: LATE UPDATE FTW? Ha, my laptop's internet connection is all funky. Sorry about that. So Sora and Kairi are together! But I'm not done with poking at them yet. Blargh. We still need to know more about Roxas, the phone calls, and etc.


	6. A Date?

I'm freaking out. Do you want to know why I'm freaking out? Well, I've got something to tell you.

Roxas asked me out – at least, that's what I think happened.

Roxas and I were having our usual talk outside in front of my mailbox. It was just a casual conversation, with slight mentions of the weather. I finally thought to myself that I no longer felt awkward around Roxas. Then, he suddenly asked me the question.

"Do you want to go to the movies together?"

Are you _freaking_ kidding me?

His voice was quiet as he said those words that stopped my heart, and he kept a very serious face on. I didn't know how to respond really. I didn't even know whether I_ liked _him that way or not.

"Ah...how long have you...eh..." I couldn't complete any of my sentences. It was quite embarrassing.

Roxas shrugged. "Since last week maybe around the time Sora and Kairi got together. I bet you have that night engrained into your memory by now though."

Oh my. "I...don't know what to say, Roxas. This is happening so fast, and we just met like three months ago. Don't you think this is too fast?"

"Not really. You said we could go see movies together the first day we met," Roxas told me.

I did, didn't I? "Okay! I'll...go with you, Roxas," I managed to say. "When are we going to see the movie?"

"Tonight, of course," Roxas replied.

"That early?" I screamed out loud. I tried to compose myself, running my hands through my flaxen hair vigorously. I had to look cool, calm, and collected. "I mean, that is _totally_ fine with me."

Roxas raised his eyebrow. "You look like a bear is about to attack you, and you're trying to stay calm and retreat. You're not doing a very good job because I really think that bear would eat your anyway." He sighed heavily. "See ya later tonight."

* * *

"And he asked me out!" I screamed, exhausted after telling Kairi the whole story.

Kairi and I were curled up on the couch, talking about Roxas and the fateful event. It didn't to surprise her too much as Kairi held an all-knowing grin.

"Naminé, I knew this day would come from the moment you introduced Roxas to me. I had a gut feeling you two would end up together," Kairi told me.

"...you thought I was in love with Sora until last week," I pointed out.

"Okay, _after_ I found out you didn't like Sora, I thought Roxas and you would make a great couple. What do you know? You guys are a couple now," Kairi grinned.

I pouted. "It's not like that. We're just going on a casual date between two casual friends, and we'll casually engage into casual conversation."

"When you become nervous, have you ever noticed you get really redundant?" Kairi began to laugh. "But honestly, tell me you are not attracted to Roxas. He _is_ good looking. Plus, you guys seem to get along pretty well. Not many guys would be interested in an awkward girl like you. Except maybe Marly."

I gritted my teeth. "Wow, thanks and can we not talk about Marluxia?"

"I'm just saying that falling for Roxas is perfectly okay! Heck, I'd probably fall for that blond if I didn't have Sora," Kairi exclaimed.

In the blink of a eye, Sora then dashed down the stairs towards us. "What did I just hear? Kairi loves Roxas now? No, Kairi, I'll fight him for you!"

Sora, do you have super speed and a great ear? We weren't talking in voices so loud that they reach upstairs. Or maybe you're just being a stalker right now. Sora walked over to the couch and sat next to Kairi, looking at her blue eyes.

Kairi smiled and shook her head. "Nope, I only like Sora, and no one is going to change that for a long time."

Sora smiled back and kissed her on the cheek. Kairi's face turned slightly pink, and she giggled. I was in disbelief at the scene before me. It still shocked me how they were together now.

"You guys are so _cute_," I squealed, overly excited at their little moment before me. It then occurred to me I did my fangirling out loud. "A-ah, did I say that out loud?"

Sora and Kairi nodded simultaneously, looking both disturbed out and on the verge of laughing. Yeah, I'm kind of weird. I rushed out of the living room and upstairs.

* * *

After spending an hour trying to decide what I would wear, I ran toward Roxas, who was already walking toward the concession stand to buy some popcorn. I followed behind him out of breath, barely managing to keep up to his pace. Roxas just has to walk fast, does he? He finally stopped and turned around, asking to see my purse for a second. As I handed it to him, I decided to ask him the question that was bothering me.

"Um, shouldn't we go buy tickets right now before getting food?" I asked, feeling nervous that I might have been saying something stupid.

Roxas shook his head. "I pre-ordered tickets online about last week as soon as I knew."

"Eh? You were already thinking about going to the movies with me then?"

Roxas nodded. "I kind of already guessed you would say yes, so I went ahead and bought two tickets. Sorry, I kind of sprung the question today when I already bought the tickets."

"No, it's alright," I said, shaking my head. "I was just really surprised at the time because of all people, you picked me."

Roxas looked at me, eyebrow raised. "It kind of _has_ to be you, Naminé. I thought you'd at least know that by now. Don't you know me at all?"

My face flushed at what Roxas said. My gosh, he's saying such things so casually. "I think I know you. Sometimes, you really surprise me though, just like this morning."

Roxas shrugged and went to get popcorn. I set out to get a cup and started filling it with orange soda, putting the cap on it after it was full. Roxas came back holding a large bag of popcorn, telling me we were sharing. I nodded and asked what kind of soda he wanted, taking another cup out.

"Why don't we just get one soda this time?"

Such fast development! Was he asking to share a drink together? My face was beet red. "A-ah, are you sure? This isn't a lot of soda, and it's not a problem to get another cup for you."

Roxas indifferently pulled out two straws quickly and headed to the cashier to pay for all the food. I eyed the two straws next to the one cup of orange soda. I would never have expected to share a drink with _any _guy. Is this what normal boyfriends act like?

When he went through the ticket check, I tried to walk close to him, like how I think a girl should on a date with a guy. Do you know Roxas isn't exactly the most normal of guys?

"Why the hell are you so close?" he asked, his eyes saying vulgar words that I should not repeat. His voice showed hostility.

"Sorry!" I apologized, thrusting my head down and letting my hair cover my face.

Once I looked up, I saw Roxas had already went into the auditorium. I sighed, mentally hitting myself for acting so stupid. I entered through the doors and saw Roxas sat in the very back row at the top. I hurriedly went to him, sitting myself on his right. Lucky for us (or not if you hate them), trailers were still playing.

I sipped the orange soda from my straw, trying to restrain myself from gulping down the entire cup. I wasn't really used to sharing food. Roxas was munching on the popcorn silently as his eyes were glued to the big screen. I wondered if he was mad at me me for earlier. He still held onto his unwrapped straw. Suddenly, he gestured toward the bag I brought. I handed the white leather purse to him, and he dug inside, pulling out a can of soda. Funny, I don't remember bringing a can of soda with him.

It then occurred to me that Roxas brought the can and must have hid it in my bag at the beginning of the date. He wanted to sneak in a free drink. Roxas opened up the can and stuck the straw inside, sipping the brown liquid.

I should lighten the mood with a fun little joke. Who am I kidding? I don't know _any_ jokes. Still, I had to try to lighten the mood in some way.

"Aardvark," I randomly said.

Roxas turned to me, staring. Wrong thing to say apparently. "What?"

"Just kidding?" I nervously chuckled.

The movie finally started after what seemed to be the longest trailer ever. I knew the movie was a comedy, but I had assumed it was a romantic comedy for the date. Turns out, the movie was a screwball comedy, filled with extremely random jokes. Critics had given it much praise as well, and I wasn't disappointed. It was hilarious! I thought I'd never stop laughing.

"That's not funny at all," Roxas muttered.

I shut my mouth immediately after hearing his words. I did something stupid – again. I looked at the screen to watch the scene Roxas didn't find funny. It was one of the more perverted scenes in the movie. I guessed Roxas isn't a fan of these kind of scenes.

Why do I even try to be a good date? I always end up doing something stupid. I banged my head against my purse.

* * *

Kairi dabbed the hot tears running down her face with a washcloth, in the bathroom looking the mirror. In her other hand, she held her cellphone tightly. She placed the butterfly-covered phone by the sink and looked at herself in the mirror carefully. She forced a small smile.

"Hello," she said softly with a smile. She shook her head and repeated this over and over until it seemed convincing enough. Her phone began to vibrate, causing her to jump a bit. Kairi held her breath as she picked it up, seeing it was a text message from Sora. She sighed with relief. "Please don't leave me, Sora. I won't cry in front of you ever again."

* * *

Roxas and I exited the auditorium, still laughing at the final joke. He then turned and apologized to me suddenly. I blinked once, confused by his actions.

"Eh? Why are you sorry?" I asked him.

"You didn't seem to like the movie that much," Roxas answered.

I actually really liked the movie. It was very funny, and its humor was very quirky. "I thought the movie was great, Roxas. What made me you I didn't like it?"

"Maybe the fact that you started banging your head against your purse halfway through the movie repeatedly until the end."

You see, I ended saying and laughing at stuff I realized I shouldn't have been a _lot_. Thus, I would inflict pain on myself. Not a very smart move at all, really. I could be losing brain cells and become even stupider, causing me to make more decisions I'll regret.

"Oh, _that_," I laughed, "was just...me expressing my enthusiasm for the movie. It was just so darn funny that I wanted to hit myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming and it's real! Now I can go buy it on DVD when it's released."

Roxas seemed to have accepted my explanation, as he shrugged and continued to walk. As we neared the theater's exit, he spoke, "Thanks a lot for coming."

"No problem," I replied with a smile. "I want to apologize for making this night totally strange and weird. I don't blame you if you don't ever want to do this again."

Roxas's eyes widened. "Strange and weird? Naminé, any night – actually, any day – with you comes off as strange and weird to me. I still hang out with you though. Trust me, we're doing this again. Besides, I kind of like you better when you're weird. It lets me know you're not trying to be a normal person, which you clearly are not."

Thanks? "Well, I do admit it was an...interesting time. I wasn't really bored to say the least. Um, did you have a good time today?"

"Yeah, I'd say it was a good time. When do you want to do this again? I just saw a poster for a movie I definitely want to see, and I'm ready to go pre-order some tickets right now," Roxas said, showing a bit of excitement.

"Hey!" I said. "You don't even know if I'll say yes or not yet, so don't go on making decisions like this already, Roxas."

"Well, aren't you going to say yes? You did say you have a good time," he pointed out.

I blushed and closed my eyes, yelling, "How can you be so casual asking a girl out on a date? I don't get you at all, and now I'm even more confused on what to do!"

My eyes slowly opened so I could see his reaction to my outburst. Roxas was staring at me like I was speaking a whole new language. He scratched his head.

"Did you just say you thought this was a _date_? I just wanted to go to see a movie with a friend," Roxas told me. "Last week during Sora and Kairi's dinner, I saw the poster for the movie while we were walking together, and I immediately pre-ordered tickets to go see it."

Are you serious? "W-what about saying it has to be me of all people?"

"It has to be you who comes with me here because I have no other friends I'm actually comfortable with," Roxas explained. "You thought we were on a _date_?"

This was the most embarrassing moment of embarrassment in my embarrassing life! Oh no, I'm getting redundant, a sign of nervousness for me. At least I'm not saying it out loud. Now, I had to calmly cover up for my misconception.

"D-d-date? W-what are you t-talking about?" I said, trying to laugh loudly. "I said...day...of _fun_. That's what I'm talking about. I'm asking you how can you ask me so casually to go on another day of _fun_ with you! I mean, this day of _fun _was already just so amazing, what with all the_ fun _we had. No need for any misunderstandings between us, Roxas."

Roxas began laughing uncontrollably suddenly just as I finished speaking. It amazed me because I had never saw Roxas act like this. He wasn't even laughing this hard during the movie. Roxas suddenly pointed to me.

"This is why I hang out with you," he told me with a huge grin. He started to walk towards the car, turning his head to look at me as he walked. "You coming?"

I stood motionless for a few seconds. I couldn't help but think about how much I want to know more about Roxas. I wanted to see more sides of him that seemed like they'll never show. I nodded and ran toward the car, smiling to myself.

Once we were both inside and Roxas started driving, he asked me why exactly did I say yes when I thought it was a date. He teased me, saying I probably was in love with him.

"Me in love with you? Oh no, that's not it!" I said sharply. "I...just felt bad that I would hurt your feelings if I rejected you. It takes a lot of guts to ask someone out."

"So it was a pity date?" Roxas mused.

"The way you word it makes it sound bad..."

However, I didn't really think I said yes because I pitied him. See, the best times I have with Roxas when we're not trying at all. I said yes because I was curious to learn more about Roxas. I said yes because I may have been itching to see a movie.

I said yes because there was a possibility that I was starting to develop a crush on Roxas.

**

* * *

A/N: **My favorite chapter to write so far. Maybe. DUN DUN DUN, Kairi stuff. Next chapter with focus on her and Sora. I'll be gone for the weekend, so late update again? Hope you liked this chapter.


	7. A Change

Roxas decided I really needed a job. It has been at least four months since we have met, and I was still that unemployed wreck he met talking about the weather. Therefore, he decided to help me a get a job.

"After all, that's what friends do, right?" Roxas asked.

I nodded, smiling. "That's what friends do."

And so, he took me around our city, applying everywhere – and I literally mean everywhere. The thing was that "everywhere" just didn't seem to like me at all, even the fast food places. Teenagers in high school can get jobs like those, and I can't? Unbelievable.

"How can this be happening? I was sure Burger Queen would definitely at least want you as their mascot instead of that black-haired kid with the creepy yellow eyes," Roxas muttered to himself. He sat down on a bench outside of the store I just applied to in the mall. "Let me see your resume."

I handed the printed out the resume I had with me. Roxas shook his head as he looked at it, obviously disappointed. "There are two d's in address, Naminé," Roxas pointed out. "February needs two r's as well. Don't put exclamation points either because it kind of makes you look...not bright?"

"Gee, thanks, Roxas," I sighed. "Do you think I'll ever find a job? During my school years, I just studied art and design, and now I can't sell a single painting I've made. I can't even get a job as a mascot now!"

Roxas sighed. "Don't give up, alright? Someone is eventually acknowledge how hard of a worker you are. You always try your best, you're committed, you're funny, and you're..." He then shook his head. "Um, anyways, art isn't a stable career choice anyway. Didn't you have a part time job at least during college? Those books aren't all that cheap, and there's also tuition to be payed."

"I had a job as a waitress for a while, but I was no good at it and quit as soon as I got out of college. I tried to make it as an artist then. A lot of my college stuff was payed by the insurance though," my voice became quieter.

"Insurance?"

I shook me head. "It's nothing, really. Come on, let's go back to my place and check up on Kairi. I let her use the car today so she should have drove home from work already. Ooh, maybe she's out with Sora today? I think he should have finished up catering for that party about an hour ago."

* * *

When Roxas and I entered the house, we saw Kairi staring at her phone, utterly silent. As I sat down next to her, Roxas proceeded to go use the downstairs bathroom. Several seconds passed before Kairi realized I was sitting next to her. She seemed surprised to see me, and instantly, a forced smile appeared onto her face.

"Good to see you, Naminé. I thought you guys would have been out a bit longer. Aren't you two supposed to be looking for a job? You're still unemployed," Kairi said. She stood up, her smile not disappearing. "If you'll excuse me, I really need to go use the restroom."

She walked toward the restroom that Roxas had just entered. Softly, she knocked on the door, calling upon Roxas's attention. I watched as Kairi's hand gripped onto her phone tighter, almost crushing it to pieces.

"Roxas, can you get out now? I really need to go," she said.

From behind the door, Roxas answered, "Sorry...I kind of need to take my time right now."

Kairi ran her fingers through her hair, pulling some behind her ear. She let out a small sigh. "Ladies first, right? You kind of have to let me come inside."

"Woman, I don't _have_ to let you in. First come first serve."

Kairi grabbed the door knob and started shaking it violently. "Roxas, let me in. My freaking god, let me in! Open the damn door!" Both hands were on the door as she kept pulling on the knob.

"For the love of God, I'm pooing! Do you honestly expect me to get up right now?"

"Yes, now let me in!" Kairi shouted, becoming agitated. "I really need to get inside there right now. Just...Roxas, I will murder your family if you don't let me in right now!"

"Go ahead! Let me poo in peace."

I got up, coming closer the bathroom door. "Roxas," I hissed angrily. "Don't be so mean to Kairi right now, alright?" To Kairi I added, "And how bad do you need to go? Can't you hold it in a bit? Aren't you forgetting the restroom upstairs as well?"

Kairi turned to me with an expression that looked so...vulnerable. She seemed to have suddenly remembered about the bathroom upstairs and sprinted to go use it. I followed her upstairs, watching her slam her fist onto the door.

"The door is stuck," she yelled.

I come closer to her. "Kairi, it's okay. You can use the bathroom after Roxas is done."

Kairi turned to me, and what I saw had shocked me. Tears were falling from her eyes, endlessly creating a puddle of salty water. She grabbed onto the front of my shirt with both hands and pulled me closer as her head faced the ground, crying loudly. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around her.

"T-the bathroom is the only place..." she sobbed.

"The only place?"

"It's the only place I'm allowed to cry."

I had no idea why Kairi was crying, but I held onto her tighter, trying to give her comfort and stop her tears from falling. I've never seen Kairi cry in front of me or anyone since the day I met her. She always came off as a girl who, despite what happened, didn't let it get to her and continued to work hard. A crying Kairi was definitely new.

Roxas came upstairs, scratching the back of his head. "Err...the restroom is free now, so...yeah."

I shook my head. "I think Kairi's staying here." I looked down at Kairi and spoke softly. "How about we call Sora? I'm sure having you boyfriend here would definitely help you, right?"

"No!" Her voice was sharp. "Sora...he can't know about this, so please, don't tell him anything. Don't make him come over. Sora can't see me."

* * *

After tucking Kairi into bed, Roxas and I stood outside her bedroom. I turned to him, very confused. "Why does she not want Sora to come? He's her boyfriend, for crying out loud. Did we fail at getting them together? Oh my."

"Maybe she doesn't want Sora to see her cry because it would be the first time?" Roxas suggested.

"Why would it be the first time? They've known each other since they were kids."

Roxas shrugged. "Maybe Kairi isn't comfortable crying in front of others, especially Sora. After all, she frantically tried to go to the bathroom to cry. How often does she suddenly leave to 'use the restroom' or something?"

I thought back to all the years I've known her. She had often suddenly left the room for various excuses, and when I told her she was strong, she strongly disagreed. Even at the convention, she left to use the restroom and never returned, and I later went to the restroom and heard sobbing.

"What could Kairi even be crying about?" I asked Roxas, like he knew the answer to every question life has to offer.

"You know her better than I do. Dig through your memory and find that answer."

Now he's acting like a fortune cookie. I tried to recall what happened before Kairi would suddenly leave, saying she really needed to use the restroom. Suddenly, it hit me like a ton of bricks that feel from the sky. Kairi was always on her phone, talking to someone from work. She had been promoted recently as well.

"Oh my gosh," I said out loud. "It's her job; that's why she's been crying her eyes out, Roxas!"

Roxas nodded. "The very thing _you_ still need to get. Your cellphone is ringing by the way." He pointed to the device in my pocket that was vibrating.

I quickly pulled it out of my pocket and answered the call. "H-hello? A-ah, is that so? Okay then. I really hope I don't disappoint you! Three o' clock it is then..." I pressed the end button and shoved the phone back into my pocket, grinning.

"Did you get the job?" Roxas asked me, almost smiling.

"No, I get to go in for a interview!" I squealed excitedly as I jumped up into the air and embraced him "I'm so happy I could just die right now. I have to get changed right now and fill up the gas tank and...!"

Roxas stared at me, twitching slightly as he tried to push me off. "You...are touching me. Every single time I'm with you, you just have to touch me! How old are you again...?" He shook his head. "Anyway, what about Kairi? Are you just going to leave her to me while you run off to your interview? You are really Kairi's best-est friend forever-est then."

I quickly let go of Roxas, my face red. "Sorry!"

Roxas sighed and then opened the door to Kairi's room, confusing me quite a bit. As I called at his name, he shut the door behind him as he went to my best friend. I wonder what he was going to say to her.

* * *

I waited outside the room as Kairi and Roxas talked, hoping he was able to cheer her up. As I leaned against the door, it occurred to me that Roxas only talked to me. I had sort of envisioned that after we got Sora and Kairi together, we'd be good enough friends, and he and I could go around meeting new people, but we still haven't moved much from who we were when we met. He hasn't even had a one-one conversation with Kairi or Sora yet. I must have been lousy at this.

I fell over as the door behind me open, my head landing right in front of Roxas's feet. I looked up to see his face looking down at mine with an expression that showed confusion and "I don't even want to know vibes."

"You look like a pervert who is trying to look up a girl's skirt right now, Naminé."

I quickly sat up and faced him. "I'm not pervert! I wasn't trying to look at you inappropriately! Don't think wrong of me!"

"As much as I'd like to play the 'Naminé is ten-eight on the hot/crazy scale" game, but I actually need to do something now," Roxas said, heading downstairs and out the door.

"Hot/crazy scale?" I repeated to myself. "I...don't get it all."

I would later learn that Roxas had meant I was an eight in hotness and ten in craziness.

I looked at the clock and saw it was nearing three, and if I wanted to make it to the interview, I should leave the house at that moment. But, with one look at Kairi's room, I knew that I wasn't going anywhere. I didn't regret my decision.

* * *

The car ride back to the house was silent for the most part as Roxas drove Sora over there. Roxas kept his eyes on the road the entire time as Sora glanced at Roxas every few moments, curious on where Roxas was taking him.

"This is the road we take to get to Kairi's house," Sora pointed out.

"Yeah, it is."

There was silence once more. Sora sighed and looked out he window. "Is this about Naminé or Kairi? I won't forgive you if you hurt either of them."

"It's about Kairi."

This caught Sora''s attention. He whipped his head to look at Roxas now. "Is she alright? What's wrong with her? This has to be serious if you're taking me here out of the blue like this."

"She's sad, and I think she'd be less sad if you were by her side. Kairi's been crying her eyes out over a work overload. Apparently, ever since she was promoted, she's been working ten times more than before and it's killing her. You need to talk to her," Roxas informed Sora.

Sora's eyes widened as he heard this, looking down as Roxas finished speaking. "But I'm no good at it, talking to someone who is crying...I can say 'it'll be alright' and all, but what do I know? It never seems to make them feel any better." He sighed. "I'm horrible at dealing with people when they start with the waterworks."

"So?" Roxas said, not seeing the problem. "Kairi doesn't need someone to tell her everything will be alright and that work is going to get better for her. She knows that she can quit her very, very well-paying job anytime if things ever got too hard. She needs someone to sit down and listen to the crap she has to put up at her job and finally let all that rage out. She's been keeping it all in for so long because of you, you know? Kairi knows how much it makes you feel uncomfortable when somebody cries."

"How exactly do you know all this? Did you read Kairi's mind or something?" the brunet asked, eyebrow raised. "Oh my god, you're an esper; that makes so much sense now!"

Roxas's sweat dropped. "Seriously? How does that make any sense at all?" He sighed and parked the car in front of the house. "There's a thing called 'talking to girl' too, you know. Well, I didn't actually really _need_ to talk because she was just screaming all that and sobbing on how she didn't want you to come. That's why I had to bring you immediately. As much as I'd like to listen to Kairi rant and cry, I think a boyfriend should take the reins."

"That doesn't make much sense to me at all," Sora replied. "Why bring me here when she told you not to? She might _actually_ want to be alone."

"Girls lie," the blond stated. He then lifted his arm and pointed toward Kairi's room on the second floor. "Now get in there."

Sora smiled and nodded, running into the house. "You're a good friend, Roxas!"

Roxas sat back in his car, surprised at what Sora just said to him. A small smile appeared on his face as the brunet disappeared from his view.

* * *

Sora opened the door to Kairi's room quickly, slamming it. He looked around the room at the butterfly wallpaper, giving off vibes that a young girl lived in the room. He found the redhead curled up in a ball on her bed, the covers being completely pink with blue butterflies. He sat next to her, silent as she sobbed.

"S-sora...please go away. Please don't look at me. I'm really sorry," she sniffed. "Just wait until tomorrow, and I'll be smiling again. When the sun comes up tomorrow, I'll be the happy Kairi you like instead of this mess."

Sora stared at her. "You think that just because you're feeling emotional and depressed enough to cry, you think I don't like you anymore? Okay, maybe if I had to choose between the two Kairi's, I'd choose Happy Kairi, but really, I'm perfectly fine with this one. You're still my girlfriend."

"You hate it when people are like this," she said as she buried her face into her knees even more. "This Kairi would make you disgusted, and you wouldn't even want to be near this wreck. You'll break up with her for sure."

"Is that what you think?" Sora asked, falling back onto the bed to lie down. "Hm, I still like both Kairi's very much, and I don't want to break up with either of them. Heh, it sounds like I'm two-timing." When Kairi didn't give a response, Sora repeated the last word even louder. "Two-timing, two-timing, TWO-TIMING!"

Kairi whipped her head to look at Sora, glaring at him. "Oh my god, I heard you the first time! You better not to be two-timing on me or you'll definitely wake up somewhere in Atlantica!"

"Your face is no longer hidden! Success!" Sora cheered. "I guess I'm still doing a bad job at this comforting thing because it seems I'm the only one who is happy right now. It's strange, normally, I'd be feeling super awkward and uncomfortable, but it's different now. Maybe cause I'm older now than that ten-year-old who left your house without even saying goodbye. Boy, wasn't he stupid to keep running away every time you'd cry?" He took in a deep breath. "Tell me about work, Kairi."

The redhead's gaze softened and rested her head on her knees once more. "No. I'll bore you to sleep."

"Then it's better to sleep with your girlfriend beside you," he replied, grabbing Kairi by the back of her shirt and pulling her down to lie down next to him on the bed. Her body flopped onto the bed, causing a loud thud sound. "Now it's more comfortable to sleep, am I right? Tell me about work now."

Kairi stared into the Sora's eyes, more tears coming as she opened her mouth. "It really sucks. Ever since the promotion, I just...hate this. They all keep calling me and tell me I have to come in and help out, and every time I go in there, I feel like killing myself. There's so much pressure, and I started to forget to bring in my designs lately. There's more hours, and the pay is good and all but I'm not sure if I can handle it. I just want to _change_ into someone else who can walk into that place without feeling the need to break down. I don't know what I..."

Sora hugged her tightly as she spilled everything to him, soaking his shirt with her hot tears.

* * *

After Sora pushed me aside to get into Kairi's room, I ended up going outside for a breather, seeing Roxas still in his parked car. I walked up to the male blond, asking him if he brought Sora here. He gave a sarcastic response that Sora flew here with his superpowers. I laughed and sat in the car right next to him.

"Thank you for everything you do for me, Sora, and Kairi. I really wish I'm able to do something for you that can even compare to what you've done for me. Maybe I could find a way to turn you into a real dragon," I giggled.

"Please, Naminé, I can't even compare to those majestic creatures. It would be an insult to them if I tried to become one," Roxas said in a very serious tone. And he calls _me_ crazy. "Just...keep doing what you're doing right now, being a one-woman show everywhere we go. It's just awesome because some people pay munny to see that kind of stuff, and I get it everyday for free."

I rolled my eyes. "So...did you see Teenage Wasteland the other night? Can you believe how awesome their bands sound? Who do you think will win?"

"Definitely the Oathkeepers – they are entirely consisted of the Hikari household," Roxas replied.

"Huh, I think the Advent Children will win. It would be a better twist, and it would really be interesting to see how everyone reacts to that."

I don't exactly remember everything Roxas and I said or how long Sora and Kairi were in her room alone together, but I know the next day, Kairi came up to me looking happier than the night she got together with Sora and started yelling:

"I got demoted!"

I found it odd that she was cheering and felt happy to be demoted from her position in the fashion industry, but it was understandable considering how stressed out it made her before. She told us that there was a lot less pressure on her since she got demoted, and she could actually enjoy working and remember why she wanted to work in the fashion industry again. The four of us celebrated with drinks at a nearby bar, drinking till the end of the night. I ended up getting _really_ drunk, so I don't remember all the details. However, according to Roxas, it went as:

"I love life," I said, after finishing another shot. "I just love it. It's so life-like, and it's fun. There's insurance for it too! Isn't it great? I mean, I love it and everything that's alive except that stuuupid bird who pooped on me when I was four. I love everyone. I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS BAR. WHOO!"

"We love you, Drunk Naminé," Sora said, taking his phone out to record.

Kairi laughed. "Naminé, you're too cute! Don't wander off and get raped, okay?"

"This...is much better than anything on TV," Roxas said, putting down his shot.

I began to sing "Sanctuary" as loud as I could, standing up on our table. Apparently, I pulled a reluctant Roxas to sing with me, him freaking out for me to be touching him as usual. Still, he stood up there with me to make sure I didn't fall and hurt myself.

"Where fears and lies melt...what was it? Candles?"

It was needless to say I had a killer hangover the next day.

* * *

**A/N**: Argh. I hate this chapter. It felt rushed, despite it being maybe 1,000 words longer than an average one for me. So I hope you get that Kairi bottles up all her emotions so Sora won't leave her like he always did when they were kids. Things are a lot more prettier and awesome in my head XD Makes me worried I'll mess up on writing the climax and it'll turn out all bleh. Eh, that isn't for another seven or so chapters. Next chapter we meet Xion and a certain someone _finally_ gets a job. There's a Roxas/Naminé too, along with a tiny detail on why Roxas hates being touched. I don't like the majority of the chapter until near the end though ^^;

When will chapter come out? I don't know O.O I delayed the release of this chapter because I spent a few days with my cousins and then a week with my other cousin, who is coming again later today to spend the night. She tends to use my computer while she's here, so I can't do anything like write or RP o3o Thanks for reading this chapter and I hope you like it more than I do! See ya next time?


	8. A Friend From The Past

I wanted to go home.

I was at a popular bar in Twilight Town, trying to meet some new people. At the moment, I was talking to a this lazy blond guy who was telling about his band while sitting in a booth with him, sipping shots. Honestly, he and everyone I talked to didn't interest me enough to hold a real conversation. Well, it might not have helped that I kept mentioning the weather.

"And we're going to be playing soon at the..." he continued.

"...this weather is really something right? Clouds and...clouds," I mumbled, trying not to show lack of interest.

The man leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "You're bored aren't you?"

I scratched my head. "It was so much easier with Roxas. I'm not good with talking to new people, but I seemed to sort of know what to say with Roxas because I had the feeling I could relate to him, you know? You...whatever your name is – I'm sorry, I stopped listening to five seconds after you started talking – I can't picture us as friends. I can't picture anyone at this bar as my friend, and that annoys the hell out of me."

"Demyx," the blond repeated. "It's Demyx." He then looked up at the ceiling, emptying the shot he held into his mouth. "You really like this Roxas, huh?"

I choked my on drink, staring wide-eyed at Demyx. "Me? Like him? No. No, no, no. No. No, no, no, no, NO! I don't like Roxas that way. No, no."

"Really? Twelve no's?" Demyx looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "Why don't you at least tell me why you're here and not hanging out with him? Is he too busy tonight or something?"

"He's too busy _all_ the time. Roxas is always spending time with _Xion_ now. I know I can't be the only person he can hang out with, but she can't either!" I sighed. "I don't know what to do at all. He's able to still find her interesting, yet I find everyone else boring. Um, no offense."

"None taken," Demyx replied nonchalantly. He then looked at the door in the front of the bar. "Hey, what does Xion look like?"

I shrugged. "Short black hair, blue eyes, kind of my height but maybe taller, wears all black, and all. Why?"

"She's behind you right now."

* * *

I didn't know what to say to Xion when I first met her. She seemed very shy, and I didn't want to greet her first, leaving an awkward silence. We were at the mall, not really planning to buy anything really, when she came up to us and greeted Roxas.

"Naminé, this is Xion, someone I knew from high school," Roxas explained hastily.

"Someone you knew? I think we go a little farther than just that," Xion told Roxas, smiling slightly.

Xion looked like she was in her mid-twenties and it made sense for her to know Roxas in high school. I wondered what he was like in high school and if Roxas was also so...Roxas. Now I'm using his name as an adjective. Great.

Xion turned to Roxas and she _held_ his hand. The thing that bothered me the most was that he didn't freak out and push her away one bit, though he seemed a bit uncomfortable. "How have you been, Roxas?"

"Fine, I guess," Roxas replied, shrugging. "I've been doing okay since I left school. I ended up going for a career as a mailman because I don't have to interact with too many people, until recently that is."

"Hm."

Xion then looked at me, trying to read me like some textbook you really want to throw down into the toilet. I already didn't like her.

* * *

I didn't see Roxas for a week because he was spending his time catching up with Xion. I tried to come off as very calm, collected, and indifferent when Roxas told me he couldn't hang out because he needed to talk to Xion alone...again.

"Me? Upset? Pfft, no! No, no, no. I'm perfectly fine with this because you need to time with Xion. After all, it's been so long since high school right? I am perfectly fine with everything. In fact, I'm going to eat a bagel. You should eat a bagel later too! Bagels are _nice_. I bet if I asked them to hang out instead, they'd happily come with me before I gobble them down, am I right?"

"...are you okay?"

* * *

Xion sighed as we talked at our group gathering to see the new action movie that came out recently. She _was_ coming with Roxas, but last minute, he bailed saying he was busy or something. Thus, with Sora and Kairi are in couple-mode and sticking together, I was stuck with Xion. I should have postponed getting Sora and Kairi together.

"Naminé, I really hope you're okay with my one-on-one sessions with Roxas. I feel that they are really needed to bring full closure on past events. Sometimes, things get a little intense, and I've noticed once I bring up you, he seems to become a bit uneasy."

"I'm not quite sure I follow," I admitted. "It's fine that closure needs to be found, and I think it's completely understandable."

"If you want, we could have one-on-one sessions as well. From what I see, you're also a person who might want to see me," Xion told me.

...is a one-on-one session a euphemism for something? Get your mind out of the gutter, Naminé! I quietly answered, "No thank you."

I wanted to talk to Roxas instead.

* * *

I entered the bar in hopes of finding someone new to hang out with, only to meet the oddest bunch of people I've ever seen. Sadly, I don't think I met anyone who I wanted to be friends with. In front of me was a man watching video on his phone, smiling stupidly.

"What are you watching?" I asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"My wife is doing the dishes, and she recorded it for me to watch."

I looked over at the screen, my eyes wide. "Who are those two naked people?"

"Mr. and Ms. Dish."

* * *

The man next to me with long black hair styled into dreadlocks began telling me of the most recent thing that happened to him after I asked how he was doing. I seriously regretted trying to start up a conversation with him now.

"Blood. Everywhere. We're all thinking the same thing: what do we do? We might have just killed a guy, and without him, we're still lost in that wasteland. He was the only one who knew the directions to the castle anyway," he continued.

My eyes were stuck on the lunatic in front of me. "Did the police ever see you guys about the whole 'killed a guy' thing?"

"Nope. Right after that, we just left him there to bleed to death while we went to find the castle. Police haven't caught us till this day."

I scooted away from him and patted the counter awkwardly. "Well, I best be going right now. I think I need to make a phone call..."

* * *

"He was so annoying that I just stabbed him in the leg with a fork," the older woman went on, tossing her medium length blond hair back. "I swear I saw blood and...are you giving me a funny look? If you are, you're really annoying me right now."

Crap. "A-ah! No, I'm not!"

That was the night I'll forever remember as the night I was stabbed in the leg with a fork.

* * *

Xion sat down in our booth and shyly greeted me with a handshake. Demyx got up as soon as she arrived and left, saying he needed to use the restroom. Us two girls were now alone, creating an awkward silence resembling the one when we first met.

"Naminé, are you alright? Roxas and I have noticed you haven't been in the best of moods lately. I can definitely try to help you get over whatever is bothering you, and we can find solutions together as a team," she told me, looking me straight in the eye.

"Me in a bad mood? Me? As if," I tried to sound casual and uncaring. "So...why aren't you with Roxas right now? Can't really leave your boyfriend behind or he might get taken away by some bimbo."

Xion blinked once, her eyes showing much confusion. "Boyfriend?"

"Oh, I guess you two aren't back together yet. Sorry, I mean ex-boyfriend then," I replied.

Xion shook her head. "I'm nothing like that to Roxas. Is that the thing that's bugging you? I'm just friends with Roxas, Naminé. We knew each other in high school because I was the school's counselor. Roxas had to see me every week to try to overcome his problems from his old home. It took weeks before he would say anything to me, and he's still not as open to me when he's with you. I've seen the way he looks at you when you two talk. He trusts you."

I was in complete shock. "Eh, school counselor? How is that even possible? Aren't you his age? You look like you're in your mid-twenties!"

"I do? I'm forty-three, Naminé."

I fell out of my chair, obviously overwhelmed by this revelation. When I got up, Xion was smiling at me warmly. This time, I really looked at Xion. Now, I could see the traces of age on her face and the reason she seemed to hold a lot of knowledge. She had no ill intentions and simply wanted to be Roxas's friend, leaving me with no reason to be upset.

"Roxas tells me you're unemployed," Xion began. What, are you telling the whole world? "I don't think you'd want to work at a high school, nor do you have the education for it, but I have a friend who works at this advertising agency and they could always need some interns. If you work hard, you could be promoted and end up on their creative team. Roxas told me you majored in art and design in college, so why not go for it? After talking to them and showing them your updated resume that Roxas did, you got a job now."

My jaw dropped in disbelief. I thanked Xion profusely and apologized for the misunderstanding. Afterward, I took a cab to Roxas's apartment. I've never really been inside before, but I remember dropping him off there a lot. I retraced the steps he always took to find out which door was his. Finally, I knocked onto his door.

When I saw Roxas, he was dressed in dragon _pajamas_. I ended up laughing at him as he reluctantly let me in, muttering something about I should call him first before coming over. I noticed his apartment was _very _neat as if no one even lived there. Right, Roxas seemed to hate any sign of dirt, though he's been less obsessive about it lately. After I asked, Roxas showed me his dragon collection in his room. I've never seen so many unopened boxes of dragon figures surrounded by key chains, books, plush dolls, and more before. I saw the key chain I bought for him hanging on the wall behind it, placed in plain view and away from the clustered mess.

"Um, thank you, Roxas, for everything you do for me. I can't believe you helped me get a job just like that," I said. "You're really a great, great guy. Whoever gets you as her boyfriend is going to be very lucky."

"Boyfriend? Please, I don't think I'm even so to being ready for that. I barely can hold someone's hand without freaking out inwardly or outwardly."

"Yet you can hold Xion's hand so easily..." I muttered quietly under my breath.

Suddenly, I felt fingers wrapping around my hand, very loose at first but tighter as several seconds past. It was a warm feeling, traveling through my hand, causing me to look at Roxas, who held his face to his face to ground and away from me. He was holding my hand.

"Xion...and you are different – very different. I...I know I can trust you two. You're safe...you're safe..." he mumbled. "My god, it's so hot, like a fire burning my hand. This is why I hate being touched, other than that _she_ comes to mind."

She? I was going to ask who she was, but I could already see Roxas struggling with this already. "It burns like a fire? Okay...then let's hold hands long enough till we're the same temperature, so it's not too hot anymore."

Roxas and I stood there in the dark of his apartment, holding hands. If I wanted to go anywhere with anyone or anything, I had to take baby steps. Maybe one day I could get Roxas to like me back.

* * *

**A/N**: This chapter feels kinda short. One of the unnamed people Naminé met at the bar will be in the next chapter. Want to take a guess? I'm still writing the next chapter, kinda stuck on the scenes where I describe Naminé at work. Next chapter will be about her first day and there's this subplot going on where Sora gets angry at Roxas.

Pfft, why must Xion be the girl who knew Roxas in the past trying to win him back? Can't she be the forty-three-year-old counselor for him?

Blargh, I need more writing inspiration. I feel brain dead. Next chapter will come out as soon as I figure out how to write Nami at work. Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! :) See ya next time!


	9. A Duel

Love. It's a strong word, and it's become overused in these days. Look at those two teenagers; aren't they in love? Look at those two dogs; aren't they in love? Look at those shoes; aren't you in love with them? Actually, those shoes are hideous, but that's not the point. Crap, I forgot the point.

The point is that today was my first day with my new job, and I was getting nervous, leading me to think about broad topics. I took in a deep breath, preparing myself for whatever came at me. I closed my eyes and opened the door to the building, rushing in and apparently bumping into a blond woman carrying several cups of coffee. Guess what fell on me? Trying my best not to curse because of the burning pain, I had a feeling that today wasn't going to be a good day.

* * *

Sora and Kairi kissed once again, now outside the cafe they went to for lunch. Pulling apart, Sora grinned at his girlfriend, recognizing the taste of her strawberry lip gloss.

"You're awesome," he whispered to the redhead, causing her to giggle.

She pushed him lightly. "_You're_ awesome. I have almost want to have sex with you right here, right now."

"...please don't," a voice behind them begged.

Roxas decided to spend the day with Sora and Kairi, unaware how they are _still_ in the honeymoon stage. He almost wanted to throw up the lunch he just ate and leave, but he really had no plans for the day. Kairi gave Roxas an apologetic look before shrugging.

"Sorry, Roxas. We kind of forget you're there sometimes."

"I can see that..."

Sora decided to pull out a flier from his pocket and showed it to Kairi, obviously excited. He informed her that there was an anime festival in town that week and that he planned to take her that. His girlfriend cheered and planted another kiss on him, making Roxas feel uncomfortable once more.

"Oh no, please, I don't feel uncomfortable at all," Roxas said in a sarcastic tone. "In fact, just make-out and have sex right in front of me. I won't vomit at all." Once the kiss between Kairi and Sora appeared to deepen, Roxas regretted saying anything at all. "No! Stop! Argh...Naminé just _has_ to have work today...bleh."

After kissing Sora again, Kairi noticed her right arm was noticeably lighter than it was a few seconds ago. She turned and saw a man running away, clutching her pink purse. The redhead's jaw dropped at the scene before her.

"Who still steals purses these days? Geez!" Kairi fumed.

Sora sprinted toward the man, looking back at Kairi as he ran. "Don't worry, Kairi! I'll get it back!" To the man he was chasing, he added, "STOP RUNNING SO FAST!"

Roxas sighed as he watched Sora run, turning to Kairi. "...Sora's running after the wrong guy, isn't he?"

Kairi nodded, her pink cheeks displaying her embarrassment. "Roxas, can you go after the guy instead? About 1000 munny is in there."

"No problem."

* * *

Roxas managed to corner the their into a dark alleyway, finally able to retrieve Kairi's purse back. He couldn't help but wonder when this alleyway appeared in this part of Twilight Town. He also wondered if it looked exactly like the ones in movies on purpose. The lighting seemed to have become more dramatic, and he could have swore he heard music playing somewhere.

Suddenly, Roxas and the thief heard a loud voice from above, only to see Sora was on the roof of the building beside them. Sora held a straight face. "Give my back my girlfriend's purse!"

"...how the hell did he get up there?" Roxas wondered out loud.

Sora then pushed off the ground beneath him and jumped down, flying towards the thief. Unfortunately, Sora didn't realize how close the dumpster was to the thief and ended up landing on top of the numerous trash bags. Roxas and the thief stared at the dumpster, in disbelief.

"I think he was aiming for you," Roxas muttered. He sighed and quickly came closer to the man, giving him a one punch knockout. "Geez, we should have done this earlier."'

From the dumpster, Roxas could hear Sora groaning. "I think I hit my head on this old radio thing. Hey, it's still on..."

"And that's where the music came from," Roxas deduced.

* * *

Turns out the woman I bumped into was Larxene, my new co-worker and who I recognized to be the woman she stabbed me with a fork that night Xion told me I got the job. The tall, slender blonde frowned upon seeing me, obviously displeased I was now working here.

"Looks like they'll hire _anyone_ these days, even annoying little girls like her," she whispered to the male with flaming red hair next to her.

"Come on, Larxene, you can't be that harsh. She's just a newbie, and we could use more interns to get us a cup of coffee," the redheaded male reasoned.

My legs were shaking now, and I crossed them to help keep me standing. I really didn't want to ask Larxene directions to the boss's office, but I was completely lost in this huge building. "A-ah, Larxene, c-can you tell me where the boss's office is? I was told I had to talk to him..." Damn my stutter.

Her icy blue eyes narrowed. "I can tell you where it is, but that doesn't mean I will." She turned away and headed toward the elevator, smirking. "Come on, Axel. I need you look over some photos for me."

I sighed sadly as I looked around the room I was in that had several rooms I could enter. The redhead addressed as Axel surprisingly stayed behind a bit and pointed to the ceiling. My eyes followed his finger as he raised it, trying to understand what he meant.

"His name is Xemnas, alright? X-E-M-N-A-S. Got it memorized? Next floor, second door on your right," Axel informed me.

I nodded and thanked him quietly. Louder, Naminé, louder! Now he probably thinks I'm inconsiderate because I didn't thank him loud enough. I sighed as I ran to the next elevator and went up to the next floor.

* * *

Roxas had noticed Sora seemed to be giving him the evil eye, the look he gave when he was furious with someone. Ominous music played in the background of the dim-lit, setting a very dark mood between the two. Kairi entered the living room with a sigh, turning on the lights and pressing 'stop' on the mp3 player Sora took out.

"Sora, playing music while giving the evil eye isn't cool; it's stupid. Can you please stop that?" Kairi said to her boyfriend. To Roxas she added, "Roxas, sorry if he's bothering you. He's just a bit upset."

Sora pouted, folding his arms. "See, Roxas? Look what you did! You're making Kairi fall for you and your...great-at-getting-theives-ness! You're trying to steal my girlfriend! How dare you! I challenge you to a duel for Kairi."

"...eh?" was all Roxas could say.

Kairi leaned over to Roxas, whispering quietly. "Just play along with this, alright? Sora is just grumpy he couldn't get my purse and wants to blow some steam. Go easy on him if you guys do really duel."

Sora gasped now, almost disturbed. "You two are sharing secrets and gossiping now? Unbelievable."

"And I always thought Naminé was the crazy one," Roxas muttered.

Kairi giggled. "We're all a bit weird, but that's what make us interesting, isn't it? Naminé's crazy can be a bit more obvious though."

* * *

After being asked to get coffee, I took the cup and headed toward the creative team's meeting. The creative team was of the people clients came to and explained how they want they product advertised. The team then would brainstorm ideas and come up with a advertisement that would properly sell. At the moment, they were discussing how to sell:

"A pen?" one of the members of the team exclaimed. "How the hell do we think of an advertisement for a plain old pen. There isn't even any cool features to it."

The man with long blue hair and a scar on his face sighed. "What the client asks for is what we must create. The pay is at a suitable amount as well."

I searched for the man named Vexen who asked for the cup of coffee. The spotted the man with platinum blond hair at the far end of the table. I held out the cup toward him, hoping I accomplished my task. He looked at me wit ha displeased expression.

"I asked for cream, and I don't see any cream here," he told me, obviously irked. Under his breath, I could hear him mutter, "Interns..."

I pretended not to hear him and quickly ran out of the room to add cream. Running toward the break room, I thought about what the creative team was discussing. Pens. How _do _you make a good advertisement for pens? I was adding the cream to the coffee when it hit me. I had an idea.

"I should write this down before I forget," I mumbled to myself, reaching for the nearest pen and paper. After writing it down, I smiled. "They're sure to accept me if I offer a good idea during their discussion. "

Once I was back into the room, I handed Vexen his coffee with a smile. Without any expression of gratitude, he took the cup from my hands and sipped it, then motioning me to leave. I took a few steps away from him before digging my pocket to find the piece of the paper. Strangely, it wasn't there. No problem, Naminé, because I remember that the idea was...

"I have an idea," Larxene said from her seat close to Vexen's.

She then said it; she was offering up the same idea I had for the advertisement. I was going to dismiss this as coincidence before I realized she was holding a tiny slip of paper in her leg-stabbing hands.

* * *

After the meeting, Larxene came up to me discreetly, smirking with pride. She spoke in a condescending tone I expected to hear from her. "You thought of that idea didn't you? It's a very good one, and I bet you were surprised that they all agreed to it. You must be so proud." She crossed her arms. "You shouldn't be because it's mine now."

"B-but I was the one...the idea was..." I could barely say. "Can you at least...?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "God, just finish a damn sentence already. Do you have the constantly annoying me with that personality of yours? Your ideas are your only redeeming quality. Here's the deal: you tell each of those ideas to me, and I won't get you fired. Interns are easily disposable anyway. Plus, I hear unemployment is hard to deal with these days."

I couldn't speak, nor could I look at her. I could only stand there as I heard Larxene cackle and leave the room.

* * *

I hurriedly ran to the park, where Roxas and Sora were apparently going to "duel." I saw a group of people gathered in an area, Kairi standing near the center and shaking her head. Upon seeing me, she greeted me with a smile as she beckoned for me to come over. I ran toward her, waiting for her to explain the situation.

"Sora seems like kind of serious about this duel, so I'm getting a little worried," Kairi sighed.

"Of Sora hurting Roxas?" I asked.

Kairi shook her head. "Sora's been studying from his comic books for hours before this. I think Roxas might be the one hurting Sora."

"Girlfriend stealer!" I could hear Sora shout.

"I didn't even attempt to take her from you; she's still yours, Sora!"

"GIRLFRIEND STEALER!"

"...how old are you again?" Roxas scratched his head, sighing. "Honestly, Sora, you're really being a pain in the ass right now. Just stop this already. Let's talk about this as adults and act our age."

The next sound I heard came from Sora's fist as it rammed into Roxas's face. Roxas fell back a bit, covering the injured spot with his hand. Sora's angry face immediately showed some regret after hitting his friend. Roxas continued to stand still, wiping his face with his hand.

Kairi didn't stand idly by anymore, now recognizing how serious the situation was. She marched up to her boyfriend and bit her bottom lip, taking his hand into hers. "What's wrong, Sora? You aren't like this at all, and I've known you since we were kids. This isn't you – a guy who punches one of his friends just because he gave me my purse back. You're not the clingy, jealous boyfriend that makes sure I don't have any friends who are of the opposite gender. What gives?"

Sora looked away, holding onto her hand tighter. "I love reading comic books, you know. Those superheroes that possess awesome powers that let them help other people and allow them to meet some really cool guys. They have powers to protect their love interest too, but sometimes they really mess up. Green Lightbulb once found his girlfriend's corpse stuffed inside his fridge..." He shuddered at the memory of that issue. "Anyways, the fact that I really fail just getting my girlfriend's purse back from some stupid thief makes me think I don't have any superpowers. I can't protect you from anything, and what if I find you stuffed in my fridge?" Sora stopped himself and shook his head. "Figure of speech! I just want to be able to control the weather like that guy in Ordinary Freak or maybe even fly up into the sky to make sure you're always going to be okay. I want to be your superhero."

"Really?" Kairi's eyes were fixed on Sora, her cheeks turning red. "Sora, you're already a superhero to me, don't you know? As cliché as it sounds, your superpower is that you make me happy." The redhead took in a deep breath before uttering her next words. "I love you. You don't need to try to beat up Roxas to prove anything. You're my superhero, and in my eyes, you're flying higher than anyone can possible dream of. Don't ever think different. Don't change."

As Sora and Kairi embraced each other tightly in front of a group of disinterested random strangers, I could hear Roxas clearing his throat, trying to get my attention. I turned to him and quickly went to make sure he was okay. Roxas assured me he was fine and asked if I had a washcloth on me. After replying no, he shrugged.

"Looks like you're still helping Sora and Kairi deepen their bond," I joked.

"Not intentionally," Roxas chuckled. For a moment, I just looked into his eyes, temporarily forgetting our surroundings. "We haven't really...ah...spent time together since Xion was here and you got that job, so..." his voice trailed off.

My heart seemed to beat a bit louder now, much to my annoyance. What if he hears it? I smiled unconsciously, trying to think of my answer. It's okay to say anything because it's Roxas, right? He's different from Vexen or Larxene.

"Roxas, are you asking me on a pity date?" I asked, playfully.

Roxas stifled a laugh as his cheeks slightly turned pink. "I don't think I want two pity dates on my record with your though. Kinda pathetic right?"

"How about I ask you on the pity date this time so it all cancels out? Then we're both pathetic, and two pathetic people cancel out to make someone...not pathetic?" I said, thinking my thoughts out loud. "Roxas, will you go on a pity date with me?"

Roxas spoke in a sarcastic tone, "It's a guy's _dream_ to hear those words. So, where to on this pity date?"

"Want to go get some ice cream?" I suggested, pointing to my right where the new Freezingstone opened up. I then dug into the bag I had on me. "Wait, I think I still have my camera with me. We should definitely take a picture before we go."

Roxas nodded and pointed to a random lady passing by, suggesting I ask her to take a picture of us. I agreed and went up to the woman with the short, light blue hair who seemed to be at least ten years older than me. For some reason, my legs felt heavy and I struggled to open my mouth in front of her. The thought that hit me was she might think I was annoying for suddenly taking time out of her day to take some stupid picture. Maybe she'd give me the same look Larxene gave me. Maybe by stopping her from continuing her path, I would cause some sort of butterfly effect that would only lead to sorrow for her. I hate myself for even considering coming up to ask her.

Roxas must have noticed I didn't say anything to her, so he went ahead and asked her himself, leaving me a bit frantic we caused some sort of butterfly effect. He took the camera out of my hands and placed them into hers. He then turned back to me, asking if I was alright. I nodded as convincingly as I could, trying to bring his attention back to the photo. I felt fingers brushing against mine and the heat that followed along with it. Roxas was holding my hand. I then saw a flash of light in front of me.

Roxas quickly let go of my hand and ran toward the woman, thanking her and taking the camera back. My face was probably tomato red at that moment, my body unable to move temporarily. Roxas began to walk to Freezingstone by himself, bringing back my ability to move my legs. I ran toward him quickly, hoping not to be left behind. Roxas doesn't always say the nicest things to me, nor does he try to be a superhero like Sora or something. However, these gestures from him just seemed to brighten my crappy first day of work.

* * *

**A/N:** Kinda sped through with editing, so tell me if you see something that should be fixed. I almost missed a your-you're mistake! Anyway, I guess you could call it the beginning of the Naminé-Work arc, which is about three chapters including this? I haven't even started writing the next chapter yet, which needs some sort of inspirational spark at the moment o3o So I don't know when the next chapter comes out. My plan for it to be about Naminé's troubles (+ Roxas/Naminé moment) and Sora & Kairi moving in together.

Random notes: 1) I probably will never say what the idea is cause...I can't even think of one XD I'm so uncreative. 2) Sora mentioned a guy who controlled the weather in Ordinary Freak, a story on her by . Hm...who exactly made it snow again? CoughSoracough. So he's referring to himself? 8D


	10. A Movie Marathon

I could hear laughter in the break room as many of the employees sipped their coffees and chatted away. Okay, Naminé, here's your chance to make a friend at work. Just get in there and say something. I took a step into the break room, only to find everyone quiet when I entered. No one was saying anything anymore, just drinking their coffee. Quietly, I retreated out of the room, hearing the laughter once more just as I closed the door.

That was a bad idea. Maybe I gave them a weird look. Maybe I have something on my face. I began scratching my neck for the fourth time today, taking out my frustration there. Idiot, idiot, idiot.

I decided to go find Larxene to see if she had something for me to do. Anything was better than standing around while others don't even give you the time of day. I found the blonde laughing with her friend Axel. Axel acted nice to me when we're alone, but once someone else sees, I end up with a hundred papers to file or he acts like I'm not even there.

"U-um, L-larxene, is there anything you want me to do?" I asked softly.

She glared at me. "Geez, I'm on my break too. Do you try to bug me 24/7? Here's what you are to do: make a phone call for me."

"To who?" I questioned, unsure of the answer.

"To anyone, really. Just get the hell out of here," Larxene hissed.

I nodded and began to walk away, catching a part of their resumed conversation.

"Maybe take it down a notch, Larxene. Once Ms. Director comes back from vacation, she'll be all on you about how you're treating the newbie," I could hear Axel utter.

Larxene gagged. "I _hate_ her. I hope she never comes back from her stupid vacation. She's not going to care if she doesn't find out about this, right? Stop being a wuss."

Gosh, I wish this director person comes back soon.

* * *

Roxas and Kairi sat in the living room, playing the newest installment of their favorite third-person shooter game. Kairi proved to be more of a gamer than Roxas first pictured. She laughed as Roxas died again. The redhead then lifted her hand into the air and slapped the blond.

"I told you, Kairi, that slap bet is totally unfair when you're playing with a girl. Guy loses and gets slapped, but girls loses and the guy can't slap her. _Unfair_. This does not count as a slap bet, so can we use actual money or something?" Roxas asked.

"You can slap me if I lose, alright? I'm totally okay with that," Kairi tried to assure him.

Roxas shook his head. "No, Sora will _kill_ me if he knew I slapped you. Don't you remember the whole duel incident two weeks ago?"

"Just slap me! Come on, it's not everyday you get the chance to slap someone in the face for free," she exclaimed. "Just do it!"

Roxas sighed and lightly patted her on the cheek. "Done."

"Wuss. That's not a slap," Kairi muttered.

"Oh my god, you just _slapped_ my girlfriend!"

The two turned to see Sora coming out of the kitchen, clearly seeing that a real slap and obviously pissed. Roxas glared at Kairi with a look saying: "See what you get me into?" Sora marched up the two, giving them the evil eye.

"And you're playing video games together too, me not invited to this either," Sora sighed. "Girlfriend stealer."

"We went over this, Sora. I'm _not_ after Kairi _at all_," Roxas said as clearly as he could. "Shut up about that, and move on with life."

Kairi nodded. "And you weren't invited because you suck at video games...well, more than Roxas."

Roxas shot a look at Kairi and lightly elbowing her. Sora gasped, appalled that Roxas was "hitting" Kairi once more. "Stop abusing my girlfriend!"

"Stop freaking out to nothing! Nothing is going on, Sora, so get it through your thick head!"

"Stop yelling at me!"

Kairi stood up, taking in a deep breath. "Both of you guys, shut up! Sora, I'm supposed to be the one afraid you're going to leave me, not the other way around. I like being the girl in this relationship, thank you very much."

"So you're saying I'm a girl now?" Sora raised his eyebrow. "Sorry for feeling that we need to be closer than we are right now."

"We're close enough!"

"Not to me!"

"Fine, let's just move in together!" Kairi shouted.

The couple stared at each other for a few moments before Sora mumbled an okay and started making out with Kairi. Roxas, sitting on the couch watching the scene before him, covered his face with both of his hands, wondering how he keeps pushing Sora and Kairi to be closer together. Another thought that occurred to him was how the hell Sora got into the house when he wasn't invited.

* * *

I sat on a bench in the park, feeding the birds with seeds I bought from a nearby store. I needed to cool off after work before I could go see Roxas, Sora, and Kairi. I bet nothing really interesting was going on anyway. I dug into the bag next to me and sprinkled the seeds onto the concrete, watching the pigeons gather and peck at the ground. Giving birds something to eat made me feel a bit better and lets me know I didn't disappoint someone that day.

I then saw one pigeon abusing another, pecking at him and trying to push him aside from the group. My heart ached a bit seeing that one pigeon far from the entire group. He looked so sad, dejected, and...lonely.

"Why...why won't you fly? If they're not treating you right, isn't it okay to just leave them and fly on your own? You...you can fly so much higher than than them if you tried and actually spoke out. Don't feel belittled, little pigeon!" I yelled.

Soon, all the pigeons fly away, the excluded one mixing into their group. Once the group of birds disappeared from my view, a blond man appeared. Roxas gave me a look that he always gave me when I was doing something weird. I quickly moved my hair to the front, hoping it would cover my red neck. It must have looked disgusting.

"New level of Naminé craziness: yelling at birds. Have you actually seen the movie cause they might come back and kill you," Roxas chuckled. "And you've gone total old lady mode on me too. Seriously, I don't even need cable anymore."

Right, I was crazy. His crazy friend who was crushing on him and probably will never become his girlfriend in any future at all. I was the crazy woman who nobody likes and should just disappear to make everyone happy.

"Naminé, you're kind of quiet...are you actually upset about that crazy comment?" Roxas scratched his head. "...sorry. I guess I call you crazy and weird and all that stuff because it makes me feel like I'm not the only one who is weird...Sorry, if I offended you."

"Roxas, owning a dragon collection doesn't make you weird," I muttered.

"I'm not talking about that – that makes me cool!" Roxas said, defending his army of dragons. "I...sometimes I just...when I was younger, I..." He seemed to have trouble completing his sentence, having a frustrated expression on his face. "Oh, forget it! Just follow me."

Roxas began walking away toward the nearby stores. The moment he started walking away, I found myself on my feet, chasing after him. It's funny how he gives me the ability to run again. Roxas took me to a DVD rental place, trying to find a good movie. Soon, he was holding five chick flicks in his hands and two screwball comedies.

"You're going to rent those?" I asked.

"Oh no, I'm just holding them because I feel like it and I like the way the plastic feels. What do you think, Naminé?" Roxas said in his sarcastic tone. "Now, hold these while I go find the popcorn."

After he rented the DVDs, I asked Roxas why he was at the park earlier like me. He responded that he was looking for me, and someone from work told him I usually went in the direction of the park.

"That Axel guy is pretty cool, and I think me and him could be good friends," Roxas said thinking back. "Anyway, I knew I needed to see you after Kairi and Sora decided to move in together."

My face lit up. "Really? They're moving in together? I'm so proud of them! Oh, I think I should move out then and give them some space, but I still need to get promoted from being a intern to be able to pay for an apartment...Did you congratulate them?"

"I would have," Roxas began, "but they started making out right after they decided it and Kairi kind of started to take off Sora's shirt...as much as I'd love to watch live porn, I really didn't want to – especially if Sora's involved."

* * *

Sora finally unpacked the rest of his boxes, taking out his beloved comic book collection. He would be sharing Kairi's room and put all his stuff in there. Kairi, carrying a plate of orange slices, came inside the room with a grin.

"Sora, I'm so happy you're moving in now," Kairi beamed. "It'll make everything easier, and it can only bring us closer together! Now, how about some oranges?"

"I'm all in," Sora replied, taking one of the orange slices.

Kairi then looked around the room, eying all the new additions. She could see action figures on her counter and comics spread across the floor. Clothes seemed to have been spit out of the closet already. The redhead put on her best smile and turned to her boyfriend.

"Okay, you just moved in Sora, so can you at least try to clean up a bit more? It's not that hard to fit more clothes into my closet."

Sora blinked twice. "Yes, it _is_, Kairi, because frankly, you have a _lot_ of clothes in your closet, more than I thought a woman could own. Plus, you're kind of a fashion designer so that might affect the number."

"Okay, okay," Kairi repeated, trying to end the discussion. However, another thought came out of her mouth. "Just want to get this out of the way too, but can you put your action figures and comics in somewhere less...in the wide open? I don't want to be staring at The Flicker when I put on my makeup in the morning. Also, if I ever have my girlfriends over, I don't want them to see these either."

"Oh, so you're ashamed I'm a comic geek?" Sora snapped. "You're a anime geek and a gamer, but you have that stuff out in the open!"

Kairi shook her head. "Don't compare me to you, Sora, because my stuff is _cute_ and I only have a few of them. Look at my Cloud plush doll, my Hope wallet, and my Cardcaptor Sakuya poster and tell me it's not freaking adorable! Your stuff...kind of leans to...the 'I might want to hide this' part of being a geek."

"Enough!" Sora groaned, walking out of the room and downstairs toward the kitchen. "I'm going to drink some coffee."

Kairi followed him out the door, crossing her arms. "Don't forget to use a coaster."

"Don't forget to use a coaster," Sora mimicked in a mocking tone.

"Sora!" Kairi yelled, appalled at his behavior. "Stop acting like such a child!"

"Stop acting like my mom first and then we'll talk."

* * *

At Roxas's apartment, we sat down on his couch and watched all seven movies that we rented while eating through four bags of popcorn. I didn't think I'd ever stop laughing, even the really stupid stuff made me laugh surprisingly. When I looked at Roxas, I could see him smiling at me, causing a blush to appear on my cheeks.

"You really better?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied, nodding. "I needed this, you know? Work is just...I really need the job, but I hate the people there, and sometimes it just gets to me."

"Axel seems nice," Roxas commented.

"Only when no one is looking..."

Roxas leaned back, looking at the ceiling. "You know exactly what you're going to do tomorrow at work, right? I heard when you laid some truth on those birds, and I think you were talking to someone else besides those little winged beasts. As expected from a crazy..." He shook his head. "Sorry...I just want to wish you good luck, and I hope you feel better soon. Fly okay, Pigeon?"

"Alright, Mr. Dragon, I'll do my very best to stand up to Larxene," I replied with a smile. "Thank you for this – you know, making me laugh for the last ten hours. I needed it."

Roxas turned to look at me now, smiling with a look in his eyes I couldn't quite place. My cheeks turned pink quickly, me hoping he didn't notice. I could remember when that smile seemed so rare and when his face seemed to always showed boredom or annoyance. When we were both strangers talking to each other in front of a mailbox, I never imagined I would end up here.

"Hm, lately you've helped me get Sora and Kairi together, get me a job, solve Kairi's problem, get Sora and Kairi close enough to move in, and helped me feel better after another bad day at work. What am I doing for you again?" I pouted. "I really feel bad I'm not doing anything for you. When you need me for anything at all, call me and I'll be there in a heartbeat! I'll fly there, run there, teleport – you name it!"

Roxas chuckled and shook his head. "I'm kind of doubtful I'm going to need your help anytime soon, but thanks for the offer. If I ever really need you, I'll say 'apple pie' to have you spring into action."

"I hate apple pie," I retorted, displeased with his choice in words. "Can't it be something like 'the banana king has arrived' and all?"

"That's stupid."

"It's creative."

We both laughed, and Roxas took the empty bowl of popcorn to wash in the sink, taking his usual seven minutes. He was so obsessive with cleaning that I swear there wasn't a single speck of dust in his apartment. It kind of spooked me out.

When Roxas returned, I asked him the first question that came to mind. "What are you thinking about right now? I don't want a vague answer or a lie, so just tell the truth."

"What's with this all of the sudden?"

"Just for funsies."

Roxas shrugged as he sat down next to me, folding his arms. "What do you think I'm thinking about?"

"How _Just Like The Afterlife_ was pretty predictable? How strange it is that you seem to really like chick flicks?"

"Hey, I just watch them for the pretty female leads, and a lot of them are kinda hot," Roxas said defensively. "And no. I'm not thinking about that. It has something to do with you. Care to guess?"

Suddenly, I froze. Me? Oh gosh, I hope it isn't anything bad. Did I say anything wrong? Did I give him a weird look? I found myself standing up abruptly, trying to think of an excuse to leave.

"My cat fell off the ground yesterday, and I need to go check on him."

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Roxas shrugged and saw me off, telling me to take care of myself and the nonexistent cat. He then told me a creepy story about how scratching your neck a lot can lead to ugly, ugly things, leading me to run as fast as I could to my car. It seemed he noticed my disgusting red neck.

Driving away, I thought about what I was going to say to Larxene tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N**: Well, Nami's "I'm useless" phase will be coming to an end (thank goodness). The Flicker is supposed to be The Flash XD And yes, slap bet was kind of random. Blame HIMYM. I have some progress on chapter 11, so hopefully it doesn't take as long to put out. Seems like I'm following my outline faithfully, so Roxas's story will probably finally be covered three or so chapters from now?

Going back to school is about three weeks. Gah. Watch: by the time I touch Roxas's story, school will slow me down and updates will take forever~ 8O Nah, I'll try to finish this story before I get too busy with school.

See ya next time folks!


	11. A Break

Words are just words. Sometimes, they are just said, without any meaning whatsoever. You don't have to take it to heart.

I wished I could have told Roxas that.

* * *

The morning of what I dubbed as "The Day I Show Larxene That This Pigeon Can Kick Some Serious Butt" started out differently from usual, probably due to Sora living with us now. I opened the door to the bathroom to see Sora sleeping in the bathtub. I couldn't quite figure out how I was supposed to react to this exactly.

"Sora, wake up!" I hissed.

The brunette jolted up, lifting up a bar of soap while exclaiming, "Stay back! I have soap, and I'm not afraid to use it!"

"...Sora, it's me, Naminé. Can you explain to me why you're sleeping in our bathtub?" I asked, folding my arms.

"Kairi's mad at me, so I can't sleep on the bed."

"There's a couch downstairs, you know..."

Sora shook his head vigorously. "She'd _expect_ me to sleep on the couch, See, last time I slept on a couch with someone who was very mad at me and also in that apartment, I woke up in Pride Lands. Kairi would never think to look for me in the bathtub, thus allowing me to sleep safe."

And Roxas says _I'm_ the crazy one.

At the breakfast table, it only seemed to get stranger. Kairi was in the kitchen, taping cracked and empty eggshells back together again. I walked into the room, sitting by the dining table and proceeded to attempt at a witty remark.

"Kairi, Humpty Dumpty isn't coming back together again; all the king's horses and men tried their best. Incidentally, does that poem suggest the horses also tried to put Humpty Dumpty back together because that would be odd."

"Ha ha, Naminé, but this is serious business right here. Sora's favorite breakfast meal is scrambled eggs, so I had to remove all the yolk parts of the egg, thus he can't eat it. To seal the deal, I'm resealing the eggs to trick him, also bringing his mood down this fine morning. Take that for not using a coaster!" Kairi laughed as she applied more scotch tape to the eggs.

I raised my eyebrow at her explanation. "Uh huh...so where's the egg yolk now?"

"I put it in a Ziploc bag and into the fridge so we can save it for later," Kairi replied.

"Of course you did," I mumbled. "Seriously, how am I the crazy one? Is it me or Sora moving in maxing out all crazy in this house? And oh my god, I keep talking to myself."

The doorbell rang, giving me an excuse to leave the room. I opened the front door to see Roxas holding his car keys up and telling me he'd be taking me to work today. When he saw Kairi taping eggshells, he decided it would be best not to ask.

"Anyway, you sure you want to come along for this?" I asked Roxas. "I'm just telling Larxene to back off and all, and I don't think it's much of a reason to miss work and all..."

"I got someone to cover for me," Roxas replied, shrugging. "Besides, you telling someone off is probably a once in a lifetime moment. Come on, let's go."

"You're going to be outside though," I pointed out. "You won't see a thing."

"...I'm moral support?"

* * *

Sora quietly tiptoed downstairs and into kitchen, taking out three eggs from the fridge. Immediately recognizing something was odd about the texture of the egg, he looked to see it was covered with scotch tape.

"What the...?" Sora muttered, cracking the egg to find nothing inside. "Kairi's revenge sure is weird..."

Upstairs, he could hear a loud thud, followed by Kairi yelling, "Sora! Did you have to leave the toilet seat up?"

* * *

Okay, here's my big moment. All I had to do was go up to Larxene and tell her how I really feel about her and that she can't continue treating me like garbage. I marched up the blond, taking in a deep breath. Larxene turned to look at me with an unamused expression, waiting for me to say something.

"Larxene, I'd like to tell you that you're a bitch who obviously has a low enough self esteem to steal ideas from an intern like myself. I bet you feel _threatened_ by my presence here and try to push my down for that reason. I'm through being bullied by you."

...is what I would have said if I had any confidence in myself. Instead, I actually said:

"H-hey, Larxene! How...are you?" I nervously chuckled, trying to think of something to say. "Nice...weather...um, I'd like to say that I'm...not exactly happy with our current relationship and I've been having these feelings and..."

"Are you trying to tell me you're a lesbian?" Larxene asked in a very bored tone.

All the male workers turned and looked in our direction now, obvious curious to hear the answer to her question. I shook my head, hearing the multiple sighs around me. Larxene then began to walk away toward the elevator. I followed her, quickly slipping inside before the doors closed.

"What do you want?" she snapped, obviously irritated.

I took in a deep breath before speaking. "I am tired of being bossed around by you, and I want you to credit me for the idea for the advertisement. Being treated like this...it really affects me negatively outside of work as well. If you were to credit me for my idea, that could serve as an opening for me to talk to the others and make friends."

"...disgusting," Larxene muttered after a short silence. "Do you honestly think you're the only one who feels like shit when they're here? For crying out loud, this is a workplace; nobody really wants to be here besides the losers with no lives. You should now that almost everyone here is just in it for the money. Now look at me, I'm on our creative team yet you've only seen me talking to Axel – he's the only one who can put up with me and I can tell he's already pushing his limits. I'm not exactly likeable nor do I act like a team player and have all the qualities of an ideal employee, but I think of pretty damn good ideas every once in a while. And if I don't contribute anything after a certain period of time, guess who is shunned and fired. Plus, I hear unemployment is hard to deal with these days."

I remained silent, realizing that Larxene was speaking the truth. I then felt guilty for thinking all those nasty thoughts about her, not even considering her situation. We continued to move down a few more floors before reaching our stop.

"But...it's still wrong to steal ideas from someone else, Larxene," I said quietly as the doors began to open. "You...can keep my idea, but please admit to me that stealing it was wrong of you."

"You're like a child..." she muttered before turning to me. "Fine, I stole your idea for the advertisement and claimed it was mine and I was wrong to do that."

"Oh? Larxene, you've been acting up once again?" a new female voice said.

We both turned to look forward, seeing the elevator doors were open and Xemnas was standing right there next to a familiar looking brunette. Her emerald green eyes stood out from her medium brown hair that fell from both sides of her face. Wait, I know her...

"Oh, it's you, the girl with the mean boyfriend from before! I didn't know you started working here," she smiled. "I'm Olette, the director of the creative team. I was on vacation with my boyfriend for the past few weeks."

"You're the woman from before..." I mumbled, recalling the day I asked Roxas to dinner and the night Sora and Kairi became a couple. "W-wait! Roxas is not mean...and he's not my boyfriend!"

Xenmas cut in now, obviously not interested in our reunion. "Larxene, you've always been a problem around here, and I had thought your recent contribution could make up for your poor work habits. Now to find that you resorted to plagiarism, I have to let you go now."

I turned to see the expression of Larxene's face, but she stormed off and out of the elevator before I could get a good look. Guilt hit me once more when I realized I was the reason she got fired. I could then hear Olette clear her throat, capturing my attention.

"Well, since Larxene is off the team and you were the one to actually contribute, I'd say we have to acknowledge that this young lady here has potential in this advertising agency," Olette told Xenmas, still smiling. "I'd say she should move up a bit to the creative team?"

"I normally would disagree to raising a lowly intern to a position like that so quickly, but your decisions have yet to backfire or show any sign of trouble. Very well, she is promoted," Xemnas said before walking into the elevator.

I quickly slipped outside, thanking Xenmas as Olette followed the boss. She waved to me before the doors closed.

* * *

"Sora, what are we doing?"

The couple sat in the middle of a totally destroyed kitchen, the wallpaper having burn marks and miscellaneous pots and vegetables lying on the floor. Kairi's hair was a complete mess, strands sticking out and part of it burnt, while Sora was coughing due to the smoke all around them.

"I think we were arguing about how you messed up with my laundry," Sora managed to say, trying to suppress his coughs.

"Nope, we're in the kitchen..."

"Oh...I think we were arguing over how I don't call your mom enough."

Kairi shook her head, trying to recall that memory. "That was upstairs; I remember that because I tried to push you out the window."

"Right...we were arguing over the dirty dishes?" Sora guessed, looking at the shattered plates all over the floor.

"Sora," Kairi began, "why are we so miserable and fight all the time now? This...just has to stop! It's just too much to stress and chaos. Why is living together so hard? Are we not ready for it?"

Sora shrugged. "We've been together for most of our lives, so how can we _not_ be ready for this? Gosh...I never acted this crazy before in my life. It's like I'm not the same person I used to be."

"We all change, Sora, and it just has to happen," Kairi sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "I miss the honeymoon phase of our relationship, where everything just seemed to be simpler than it is now. Now, I don't even think make-up sex can fix our problem because we'll just fight again." Her voice became quieter before she finally said, "Maybe we should take a break."

Silence hung in the air as Sora's eyes widened at what Kairi had said. Once the words completely sunk in, he gritted his teeth and cursed quietly to himself, clenching his hands into fists. Sora's fists pounded on the wall repeatedly, Kairi remaining silent as the sound went on.

"A break...Breaks always end in break _ups_ don't they, Kairi?"

"Not always...they can actually help a relationship and save it. We just need to spend some time apart for a while, and we can start it back up whenever we're ready," Kairi tried to reason.

"Time apart...it's like long distance, which never works out. Who's the say during this break you won't find yourself another guy and run off with him, huh? It always ends like that, one of us finding someone new and leaving the other behind," Sora responded, raising his voice. "Relationships shouldn't have breaks. You're either in a relationship or it is over. Breaks are just an excuse to screw other people."

Kairi bit her bottom lip, looking toward the ground. "Why do you have to be like this? We've already went over this, Sora, and what we went over is that I _love_ you. Why are you so paranoid that some other guy is going to take me away? You're my hero..."

"The hero you're kicking to the curb," Sora muttered. "I don't know, but when it comes to you, I get more insecure than I usually do and it sucks."

"So you don't have faith in our relationship? You don't trust me enough that you have to constantly attack Roxas for _no good reason_? How do you think _I_ feel when you do that? What if I constantly attacked Naminé because you happened to have a crush on her when you first met her?"

"I never said I didn't have faith in us - in you. Kairi, I love you too, so much that I don't know what to do with myself now. I just think you can do so much better than me, and that makes me worried. Look, if you love me the way I love you, I beg that we don't do this break thing. Taking a break...it's like we're giving up."

"We're not giving up," Kairi began to cry, chocking on her words. "A break will help us, and I know it will...please, don't look at me right now."

Sora stared on Kairi with a painful expression, trying to keep his composure and resisting the urge to run. "Don't cry...don't cry, Kairi...I don't know how to comfort you right now."

"I love you, Sora..."

"...don't cry..."

* * *

At the front doors, I saw Roxas waiting for me, listening to his mp3 player to pass the time. I smiled upon seeing him, rushing to the blond to tell him about my day. I told him about being promoted and he congratulated me, causing a blush to form on my cheeks. He then told me he'd take me out for ice cream.

In front of the building as Roxas and I walked toward the car, Larxene slammed the glass doors open and marched toward us with a frightening expression. Her green eyes bored right through my head as she gritted her teeth.

"You little bitch! I hate you!" she snarled, animated by her rage. She then proceeded to yell various and unneeded curse words and profanities, and I would be lying if I said they didn't hurt me at all. "I mean – son of a bitch! You motherfucking retarded piece of shit!"

And that's when Roxas snapped. His mp3 player flew by, barely missing Larxene's head and crashing into the doors behind her. Next thing I knew, Roxas was in front of Larxene, giving her a cold, hard stare while covering her mouth with his hand.

"Shut up," Roxas demanded, his fingers digging into her skin, "or next time, I'll get more creative with what I decide to throw, and I _won't_ miss."

I stepped forward, nervous because of Roxas's behavior. "R-roxas, what are you doing?"

"She wouldn't shut up. She wouldn't shut up just like everyone else wouldn't shut up, acting all superior just because of what she did to you!" Roxas then became silent, deciding not to continue what he was saying. He let go of Larxene and headed toward the car, muttering, "Come on, let's go..."

* * *

As he drove, I kept stealing glances at Roxas, who was staring out of the road with a blank expression. The silence between us was killing me, though I doubt it was the time to break out with a random word like last time. There seemed to be a scary distance between us right now.

"Roxas, are you okay? Larxene...she didn't direct those words to you or anything," I tried to say reassuringly.

"...I know."

It took a lot more courage out of me to say what I said next. "Did...does 'she' have anything to do with this? You know...the girl who you think of when people touch you?""

"...yes."

Here it goes. "Who is she?"

Before Roxas could respond, my phone began ringing. I planned to ignore it to hear Roxas's answer, but it seemed like Roxas wasn't going to talk anymore about it. I picked it up, finding it was Kairi who was calling.

"Naminé, I think Sora and I broke up."

* * *

**A/N**: Drama O_O The next chapter actually planned to more lighthearted, with more drinking 8D And there will be a flashback. Actually, I might cut out of the flashback if the rest of the chapter is long enough. As for this chapter, sorry if the Sora/Kairi break up feels abrupt at all. It's kind of needed for the flashback, which may or may not be included now O_O

Oh, and if you're a fan of TMOHS and like Haruhi/Kyon, I suggest reading Meet the Suzumiyas if you haven't already 83 Just finished reading it and _loved_ it. Though part of the ending seemed a bit meh.

See ya next time folks!


	12. A Seven Week Plan

I spent the next day trying to cheer up Kairi about this whole break with Sora, but Selphie seemed to be using this break as an opportunity to strengthen their friendship. Selphie had her arm around Kairi, telling her that spending time away from Sora was a good thing.

"I mean, didn't you used to complain about how slow Sora could be? Stupid guys shouldn't waste your time like that," Selphie told her.

No. No, no, no, no no. Kairi will not be swayed into thinking Sora's not her soulmate, which he definitely is! I had to say something.

"Kairi, give it time and you'll realize that Sora and you do belong together, you guys just need time to cool off and all," I said to her.

Selphie shot me a look before saying, "Naminé is just telling you what you want to hear Kairi, but I, as your best friend, am telling you the truth."

"...Naminé is my best friend," Kairi mumbled.

Take that, Selphie.

"But Selphie may be right," she continued. "Maybe Sora and I aren't meant to be...now that I think about it, I have plenty of reasons to not like him. He's obsessive, insecure, and what's with his hair? How much product does he use?"

"None," I answered. "You asked how he gets his hair all spiky, and he told you it was natural. You told me you thought that was incredibly cute."

Selphie pressed her index finger against her lips. "Shh, Naminé, we don't have to dwell on the past right?" To Kairi, she added, "Come on, let's go shopping."

* * *

Roxas, Sora, and Axel were at a birthday party for Axel's cousin, trying to cheer Sora up after the whole Kairi incident the other day. Unfortunately for Roxas and Sora, they did not beforehand realize what kind of party they were attending.

"Okay, now let's play Pin the Tail on the Donkey!"

Sora turned to Roxas, sighing. "Roxas, when you told me we were going to a party, I kind of imagined loud music and drinking instead of three-year-old children trying to puncture a donkey's ass."

"Trust me, I did not see this coming either..."

Axel came back with bottles of water and passed it to the two men, sitting down next to them on the couch. "So, you feeling any better?"

Sora shook his head. "Not really...Why the heck are we here anyway?"

"I have to watch over my aunt's kid while she's got jury duty. It was your bright idea to come over," Axel replied.

"You told me you were going to the 'most awesome party ever' and practically begged me to come," Roxas glared at the redhead.

"Didn't think you'd actual come..." he shook his head. "Let's forget this for now and focus of what's important: your friend, Sora, is free and should get back out there and into the game!"

"It's a break, Axel – not a breakup," the blond tried to remind his new friend.

Sora grumbled, "It might as well be a breakup...I can't believe I agreed to something stupid like this."

"Exactly," Axel said, snapping his fingers. "Breaks are just an excuse to screw other people, and that's what you should be doing! Come on, we're going to a strip club after this and you'll forget all about this Kairi."

"...Axel, what do you mean by 'screw other people' and 'strip club'?" said one of the young friends of Axel's cousin.

Axel turned to the kids with an embarrassed look, probably thinking about how his aunt would kill him once she found out he taught the kids those terms. "They...are stuff adults do, and you shouldn't do any of it now nor tell your mom that you heard about it from me. It's a secret."

* * *

And thus, Roxas and I began our seven-week plan to get Sora and Kairi back together as a couple again.

The first week, I had convinced Roxas we had to take them both to the restaurant where they became a couple as it would serve a reminder of the beginning of their relationship and might rekindle the fire. Of course, Roxas was pessimistic.

"Wouldn't they not want to come back there because of the memories?" Roxas said, shaking his head.

"We'll just have to force them to come then," I replied, smirking.

That night, I had called Kairi while standing in front of the restaurant, claiming to be in a emergency and needing her by my side. As I waited for Kairi to come, I saw Roxas getting out of his car dragging an unconscious Sora out of the back seat.

"...you didn't kill him, did you?" I asked, disturbed.

Roxas shot me a look before saying, "Do I look like a murder?"

"I can actually kind of see it now," I jokingly replied. "Dark mysterious past and all really help paint your serial killer image."

"Ha ha, Naminé, very funny," Roxas responded in a sarcastic tone. "So we just leave Sora here, leave, and wait till Kairi comes and sees him?"

"Yup!" I chimed with glee. "Full proof and they'll be back together in an instant!"

The plan failed. Sora woke up and left before Kairi came. Kairi ended up leaving and yelled at me for faking an emergency and interrupting work for her.

* * *

"Drinking. Are you serious?"

After failing with my 'let's put stuff in their mail to make them think about one another' thing failed, the third week was when I convinced Roxas that drinking would be the solution to our problem as people tend to be more honest when they're drunk. Skeptical, Roxas eventually agreed to the plan, also deciding to stay sober during that time to drive us home.

Kairi and I arrived at the bar around nine, sitting down in an open booth. Surprisingly, there didn't seem to be many people there that night. After ordering two of signature drinks, I noticed Sora and Roxas walking inside. Taking in a deep breath, I then spoke my rehearsed words.

"Roxas, what are you doing here at this bar at this exact time? Well, what a coincidence! Come, sit with us and let's all enjoy each other's company," I said, beckoning for them.

"Naminé, I don't want Sora here..." Kairi whispered to me.

"You don't know that! Plus, it's just a couple of drinks with some friends, Kairi. What's the worst that can happen?"

Roxas sat down next to me, leaving Sora forced to sit next to Kairi. The two exchanged awkward glances before ordering some drinks. I smiled to myself as my drink came, asking the waitress if the bar provided free soda for the designated driver. Once she left, Roxas let out a heavy sigh.

"First off, you can't act natural to save your life," Roxas said in a hushed tone, referring to when he and Sora first entered. "Second, this isn't going work."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Roxas," I chided, wagging my finger.

I don't remember how the rest of that night went exactly, me waking up with the worst hangover in the history of hangovers the next morning. Roxas visited me the next morning to give me an update on what happened the previous night.

"You seriously don't remember _anything_ from last night?" Roxas seemed to be very surprised, crossing his arms as we sat on the couch.

I shook my head, slightly scared to hear what happened. "Nope, and Kairi's still asleep so I can't ask her. I must have done something stupid though because my head feels like it's going to explode, and I feel kinda nauseated. Anything you want to tell me?"

And that's when I found out how last night went down for me.

"Ro-o-oxaas," I slurred, giggling to myself. "I love this song. I love, love, love it! Do you love this song too?"

Roxas shook his head, sighing. "Not really, Drunk Naminé."

"Whaaat? You don't?" I was near tears. "But it's our _song_. The same song people will listen to and think of _us_ and how **awesome** we are. Why do you have to ruin things, Roxas? I thought we were friends - super cool awesome best friends!"

"...please don't cry over something stupid like this because I highly doubt that people will hear a song about owning a boat and think of us."

"Roxas," I pouted and poked him repeatedly in the chest. "The dolphins can hear you, you know! Apologize or they will _never_ forgive you. Gosh, I love this song..."

Roxas grabbed my finger to cease the poking. "Don't poke me."

I started laughing uncontrollably and pointed at Roxas with my other hand. "You're holding my hand! Gosh, I_ love_ it so much I'm going to die right now." My tone suddenly became serious. "Dude, dude, duuude! Roxas, we should get married on a boat and sing this song to everybody! They'll be like so jealous of us, our marriage, and our huge boat."

I then proceeded to sing along to the chorus of the song, Boat, while Roxas chuckled quietly and patted me on the head.

Back in present day, I was gaping at Roxas, who had just finished telling me the story. Great, I acted like a complete idiot in front of Roxas, and I have surpassed a new level of weird.

"So...I believe you said something about people being more honest when they're drunk, right? Do you really want to marry me on a _boat_ while singing that same song to everybody we invite to said wedding?" Roxas smirked as he said those words.

Crap. "W-well, you see, being drunk...varies for some people and all so you can't make generalizations like that, Roxas. In fact, it's fair to say I was influenced by the song instead of the alcohol and..." I sighed and shook my head. "Just tell me what happened with Sora and Kairi last night, please."

"Well, Kairi called her dad and told him all about her sex life while Sora went outside to pee on a cop car. He didn't get caught, but he had to outrun the officers though," Roxas recalled, his tone soon becoming sarcastic as he said, "They _totally_ bonded and fell even more in love with one another. It was beautiful."

The lesson here to be careful when you drink.

* * *

Week four's Return of the Anniversary Gifts plan failed as Sora lost his from Kairi and Kairi told me the gifts from Sora were destroyed in a kitchen fire we had a while back. Week five's plan was playing their song as a couple on repeat wherever they went.

"Naminé, we've been at this store for an hour and they only play one song..." Kairi whispered to me. "Isn't it kinda of creepy?"

"Not really," I paid them two hundred munny to play it as long as we stay inside. "I do have a killer headache right now though..."

Kairi smiled. "From listening the song over and over?"

I shook my head. "The song is great – beautiful and...nostalgic."

"You think so?" Kairi said, her eyes starting to wander around the store and stopping once she saw a kid wearing a Superbman T-shirt.

* * *

"Roxas, why do you keep showing me covers of the same song on Yo!tube?"

The two men wear sitting in Sora's apartment that afternoon, watching various videos on the brunet's laptop. Roxas was going about a cheap way of getting the song stuck in Sora's head.

"You either watch this or I'll show you that Two Girls One Bowl video again," Roxas replied.

"...let's watch another cover then!" Sora said with fake enthusiasm. "But after this, want to go play basketball with Axel, Tidus, and Wakka?"

"You know," Roxas began, "I'm actually really tired of watching these video too. Let's go."

Sora sighed with relief. "You know, these past few weeks were odd but not really bad as I thought they would be. Thanks for hanging with me lately, Roxas. You're like my new best friend."

"Sorry, but you aren't mine."

"Eh?"

* * *

It was then the sixth week had come. I had been thinking up the plan for the past few days, trying to make it absolutely perfect and brilliant. Once I had it, I had showed Roxas what I jotted down in my notebook.

"You keep a notebook on Sora and Kairi?" was what Roxas said first.

"I was really bored when I was unemployed...Anyway, what do you think of the plan? See, you dress up a pizza man and knock on our door, wearing a shirt saying some lovey-dovey stuff as subliminal messaging. You then realize that the pizza is not the one we order and then..."

"Sucks," Roxas said, interrupting me in a very bored tone. "Naminé, you don't have to try this hard to put Sora and Kairi together."

I sighed, exasperated. "Of course I do! If I don't give them a push – if I don't do anything, they'll just die without the happy ending they deserve! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if they didn't have that happy ending."

Roxas, holding the notebook in his hands, flipped through the pages with a barely noticeable smile on his face. He then set it on the coffee table in front of the couch before siting right next to me.

"You said your parents got divorced before, right? You also said you want Sora and Kairi to have a happy ending because your parents didn't. Care to elaborate?"

I bit my lip, debating whether to say anything or not. And then, I just went for it. "My parents were miserable without each other, and it was definitely obvious. They spent years just being prideful and denying their feelings, scared to let the other in their life again. I kept trying to pull them close again, to realize the feelings are mutual, but they were so full of pride. Watching them all alone day by day was depressing. Freshman year of college, though, they finally decided to take the leap. However, shortly after, they were on their way to tell me the news, only to die in a car accident. It's just so unfair. They deserved a huge celebration, family trips together, growing old together, and all that romantic stuff to make up for the sad years that went away. Kairi's family to me, and I won't let her be that miserable."

Roxas stared at me for a few seconds before saying, "You're an idiot. Don't you realize that your parents did have a happy ending?"

"What are you talking about?"

"They realized that their feelings were mutual – that they were both in love with each other as well. Don't you see the year you left them alone is when they were finally able to move forward with their feelings? Can you imagine how happy they felt that moment when they knew it was love again? That's a happy ending, Naminé," Roxas chuckled as he spoke. "Honestly, I think if we leave Sora and Kairi alone, they'll get their own ending soon enough. Do you want to know what Sora said to me during basketball?"

* * *

"I know what you're trying to do," Sora said, shooting the ball into the net. "You and Naminé are trying to get us together again, aren't you?"

"It was Naminé's idea mostly..." Roxas said, scratching the back of his head, "but I agree with her that you and Kairi belong together. Didn't believe it the first time Naminé told me when she proposed we become friends, but I believe it now. You and Kairi shouldn't be on this break."

Sora dribbled the ball before shooting again. "Oh, I agree with you on that because I believe taking a break is stupid, but...I agreed to it because I knew Kairi believed in it. I don't want her to cry like that anymore. If these past few weeks did anything, they reminded me of how crazy I am for Kairi. She and I really do belong together..."

"You're not as dumb as I thought you are, Sora."

"Am I your best friend _now_?"

"Still no."

* * *

"We don't need to give them any push," Roxas said to me. "They're ready to make their own decisions, and they're getting a happy ending."

"You think so?" I asked, amazed at what Roxas was telling me.

Roxas grinned. "I know so."

I smiled back and looked at the notebook on the table, picking it up. I guess it was true: sometimes, love doesn't need a push because it moves at its own pace. It'll always get to the place it needs to be eventually. I tossed the notebook in back onto the table.

"So we shouldn't do my plan?" I asked him, frowning. "I worked really hard on it, thinking of the pizza guy and the subliminal message and..."

Roxas just laughed and shook his head, reaching for the remote to turn on the TV. "Come on, new episode of Teenage Wasteland is on right now, and we _have_ to watch it."

* * *

That afternoon, Sora spotted Kairi coming out of a popular ice cream parlor, holding a cup of yellow-colored ice cream. The brunet greeted the redhead, asking her what flavor she was eating.

"Paopu," Kairi replied, smiling.

"My favorite," Sora stared at her wide-eyed. "Come on, Kairi, please give me a bite!"

She shrugged and handed the spoon to Sora, who then viciously scooped huge chunks into his mouth. Kairi snatched the spoon away from him, scolding the man for eating most of her ice cream. Sora chuckled and shrugged, gesturing for them to sit down on a nearby bench.

"Look, I said I'm sorry about the ice cream," Sora said once more. "Please stop looking at me with those eyes."

Kairi pouted and looked down at her ice cream. "Meanie."

Sora stifled a soft laugh. "You know, I missed this – us hanging out this casually. These past few weeks have been a bit boring...though I think I'm Roxas's best friend now."

"Really?" Kairi was in disbelief. "You guys didn't seem to get along that well before because..."

"Yeah, because..." Sora let out a sigh, his eyes narrowing. "How have you been lately?"

Kairi shrugged and crossed her index finger with her middle finger. "Naminé and I have been like _this_. I hang out with Selphie more too, and I've been thinking a little girl time is nice, a good way to get your mind off things."

A silence stayed in the air for a while before Kairi stood up to throw away the empty cup in her hands. Once she returned to the bench, Sora looked up at her, trying to find his words.

"So...where do we stand on this break?"

She stood there, staring at Sora, unsure of what her answer would be. "I...really missed you these past few weeks...I want to be with you again...but I don't want to fight with you anymore. I don't want to try to push out a window anymore. I don't want to lose the closest person to me."

"I can understand those feelings..." Sora replied, scratching his head. "But I want a definition of our relationship, alright? I can't stand this being called a break. Are you in or out?"

"As for now," Kairi began, letting out a deep breath, "we're just friends."

* * *

"I have a feeling that Kairi just told Sora they're just friends," I said out loud suddenly, just as Lightning told Sola to call her 'Light.'

"You're so weird..." Roxas smiled at me. "You do realize that is total BS and that they'll be dating again probably in a week. It's a seven-week plan after all."

I laughed, as I still found it unsual for Roxas to be so sure about Sora and Kairi's relationship. "That's the plan, but I'm think it'll be eight days exactly because Kairi seems like she's going to lag a bit. In fact, she can't quickly buy anything, always spending hours deciding which brand is the best deal and going to numerous stores to compare prices. Kairi is prone to lagging."

"Were your parents anything like that?"

"My mother, definitely. It doesn't bother me too much that Kairi lags because it reminds me of my mom," I smiled to myself. "How are your parents like?"

Roxas shrugged. "Peter and Wendy are nice, though Peter's not the best parental figure."

"You call your parents by their first names?"

"Eh," Roxas eyes wandered, "Peter and Wendy are just the couple who adopted me, and I was a teenager at the time so I wasn't big on calling them 'mom' or 'dad' and all. As for my birth parents...I really prefer not to get into that. I'm actually glad I don't have to see either one of them again."

And then I began to cough. It really didn't seem out of the ordinary for me as the past few weeks I haven't been feeling the best, but I never really thought about Roxas's reaction to my current state of health. The blond stared at me, quickly putting his hand on my forehead. Soon, he jerked his entire arm away, wiping his hands on my couch.

"You're sick."

* * *

**A/N**: I know Peter Pan and Wendy don''t end up together, but it's just my preference. Why are they Roxas's adoptive parents? Mostly because Final Fantasy is apparently fictional in this story if you don't count the FF characters that are seen in KH. Credit to Jamimlia for the whole Boat line and idea. Thanks for the suggestion! Well, no flashback in this chapter aside from the brief on Nami's parents. Sola's not a spelling mistake; I just didn't want to confuse you with Teenage Wasteland and the actual story. Going to push Sokai to the side to make room for some more Roxas/Naminé x) Mm, next chapter will be about Nami being sick and Roxas...reacting in his own obsessive way.

See ya next time folks.


	13. A Few Facts

It had turned out I had a small case bacterial pneumonia. I was prescribed some antibiotics from the doctor, and I was to feel better in about a week. No big deal, right? For Roxas, I found it was a _very_ big deal.

"You, you've got to be kidding me! Pneumonia!" Roxas sputtered, pacing around the living room. "Of all the diseases you get pneumonia…"

"Sorry that I don't get to pick which illness I get," I replied in a sarcastic tone. "Relax, Roxas, I'll be fine a few days anyway, and it's just a small case anyway."

Roxas shook his head, sitting on the couch. "No, I refuse to 'relax' when you're sick, for crying out loud. You do realize how hot your forehead is right now, right? And the coughing and headaches…you're spiraling down the drain."

"The doctor says I'm _fine_, Roxas, and I prefer to take advice from someone who went to medical school and all," I said sitting down on the couch, next to Roxas. "There's no need to get so worked up."

"Yes, there's a need to get worked up! Doctors are wrong too…" Roxas's voice became softer, surprising me a bit, and he leaned in closer to me. "Promise me that you'll get a good rest, alright Naminé?"

I could feel my cheeks burning up as I nodded. Roxas frowned and came even closer to me, putting his hand on my forehead. Good lord, his face is so close…

"See? Your fever is getting even worse, and your face is all red! Geez…" he mumbled.

Roxas began to stand up, prompting me to ask, "Where are you going?"

"To wash my hands," Roxas said as if it was obvious. Really, it should have been by now.

I decided it to time to leave at that point, and I went to grab my car keys. Surprisingly, Roxas, whose hands were still covered in soap, dashed out of the kitchen and intercepted me. He frowned, an expression on his face showing little tolerance.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Work," I replied, cracking a smile. "I have a job now, and I'd like to go there and make some money – or even a new friend now that Larxene's out of the way. Shouldn't you be washing your hands? It looks like you're still on your second wash."

He shook his head. "No, I'm not letting you go to work today or tomorrow or the day after that or the…"

"Got it," I said, interrupting him. "I got the idea, Roxas…Why won't you let me go to work? It's a small case of pneumonia and I should be fine in a few days."

"Doctors can be wrong! That's why you're under house-arrest until you are completely cured," Roxas told me.

I rolled my eyes. "Roxas, you can't lock me up in my own house like this."

Roxas looked at me and then around the house, letting out a sigh. He shrugged as he said, "You're right."

"Exactly."

"You can't stay in this house when it's in this condition! Look at how filthy this house is, and think of your bacterial pneumonia and how your environment can affect your health right now. I know, as a friend, I shouldn't be saying how bad your house is, but friends need to be honest in times like this."

Oh, dear…

* * *

"Holy crap, this place is clean," Kairi exclaimed, entering the house after finishing her shift.

The house was indeed clean, not a single spec of dust left on the counters or floor and all the furniture being wrapped in plastic. The cluttered mess of DVDs by the television set was organized by the year it was released and alphabetically by title. The jackets that used to cover chairs or lay on the floor had been put on the coat rack or closet. Kairi could hear the washing machine running as well.

"Naminé," she called from downstairs, in shock. "Who did such a beautiful thing?"

Coughing, I exited my room and walked downstairs to the awestruck Kairi. She was looking through the cabinets in the kitchen, probably realizing our bowls, plates, and cups were also organized.

"Guess you like Roxas's work…" I said quietly.

Her head whipped towards me. "_Roxas_ did this? I knew that guy was a bit into cleaning but this…this is a dream come true. Where is now? I want to ask him to marry me."

"Back off! You have Sora!" was my immediate response. My cheeks turned red instantly after speaking, me trying to ignore Kairi's all-knowing smile. "I mean…hat off, you little 'dora…ble thing, you…"

"I'm not wearing a hat," Kairi responded in a singsong voice.

Just as my cheeks were about as red as a tomato, Roxas walked in, holding a basket of wet laundry, and sighed. "First off, your dryer isn't working, and secondly, you're looking feverish again…your face keeps getting red."

"Oh, really?" Kairi smirked as she said this. To me, she whispered, "Can we hire Roxas as a maid?"

"No!" I hissed.

"What, do you think he prefers the term housekeeper or butler?"

"NO."

Roxas, oblivious to our conversation, was jotting down ideas onto his notepad. "Need to organize upstairs bathroom…"

"He's a natural and works as a mailman, so he could use the extra money."

"No is no!"

"By the way," Roxas said, interrupting our hushed argument, "I'm going to be staying over for a few nights to take care of Naminé."

"What?" Kairi and I exclaimed in unison, Kairi's voice being filled with joy and mine mainly filled with shock.

Oh my.

* * *

How am I able to sleep when Roxas is in the room next to me sleeping? Shouldn't men and women not live under the same roof unless they are family or they're married or in a sexual relationship? Friends shouldn't do this. What if the walls are thin enough that he could hear every world I'm saying? Well, I'm thinking all this…what if he can read minds?

I sat up from my bed abruptly, shaking my head to get rid of my insane thoughts. It's two in the morning, Naminé, and he's probably asleep right now! Still having trouble going to sleep, I stood up and walked downstairs and into the kitchen to get something to drink, milk perhaps.

As I poured the milk into the glass cup, I heard footsteps drawing nearer. Looking up, I saw Roxas standing at the door to the kitchen, sighing with what appeared to be relief.

"Good, you're still here. You…you had me a bit worried," Roxas mumbled, taking the milk carton out of my hand and placing it in the fridge. "I heard you getting up, saw the time, and all."

"You're still up?" I asked.

"I've had a bit of insomnia ever since I was young, and when I do sleep, it's usually a nightmare of being trapped in this box," Roxas shrugged. "I should be asking you that since you're the one who is sick here, yet here you are roaming around the house. Sick people need rest."

I sighed, tired of Roxas acting like this was anything serious. "Relax, I'm just getting some milk to drink so I can sleep, alright? No need to worry and doing more than you really need to. If I just take my antibiotics, I'll be fine."

"Sometimes the body just doesn't respond to them though…" he muttered, bitterly. "Leaving me with her all alone…disgusting…"

Was I hearing him correctly? "What?"

"Nothing," he said quickly, averting his eyes. "It's just…I've seen pneumonia get worse before, and it can lead to serious stuff like…death. My dad – my biological father died from it, and my life became a living hell soon after. My point is, I don't…I don't want you, of all people, to be gone from my life. So, I'm going to stay here and make sure you make a complete recovery."

I smiled, a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart. "Thank you," was what I said before I began coughing once more.

"Come on, let go to your room," Roxas said, gesturing towards the stairs. "It'll be a bit warmer and all…and you need your rest."

I nodded, following the blond upstairs. Going to my room at night with Roxas scared me a bit, causing some hesitation before opening the door. We both sat on the bed, silence hanging the air for a while.

"I'm still not sleepy," I told him quietly.

He chuckled and offered to play a word game for bit. After a few rounds, I did start to feel a bit tried, causing Roxas to leave the room. Right before he made his exit, he checked my temperature and looked relieved. I covered myself in my blankets, thoughts of Roxas stuck in my head.

* * *

The next day, Roxas and Kairi went to the supermarket to buy some groceries, Roxas noticing a shortage of vegetables in the fridge. As Kairi handed Roxas the bag of carrots, she felt compelled to ask a question that had been on her mind for ages.

"You like Naminé, don't you?"

Roxas blinked once at Kairi's statement, shrugging after. "I guess."

"No, like as in you want to throw her on a table and do her right there, not caring even if it was at a church. Ah, our seventh week anniversary…"

"Love how you can say that so casually," Roxas replied, cringing. "If you put it that way, I guess I'll admit I am attracted to her and I enjoy spending time with her."

Kairi's jaw dropped. "Wow, you're not denying it like Naminé! I like that." She smiled, looking around for the leeks. "Why don't you two go out already then? The feelings between you two seem to be mutual."

"Nah, I don't think she would feel the same way. In fact, I probably think she'll be disgusted with me. After all, I'm just a repulsive, worthless guy," he shrugged. "I'm happy with our current relationship, so why would I go ruin things?"

"Naminé disgusted by you? Do you even know her or own a mirror? She's probably at home thinking about how she wants to be with you right now. And you're trying to say that you're happy with what you have right now? That's a load of bull, and you know it."

"I'm happy," Roxas repeated, putting on a huge smile. "So get off my back."

Kairi folded her arms. "Geez, you'd think your mother would have taught you to be honest with your feelings and all…"

There was a unusual silence from Roxas before he finally muttered, "No, I guess she didn't because if she did, I must have been doing it wrong every time I told her 'no, I don't want this.' She just put her messed feelings first and pretty much ruined me for life."

"What are you talking about?"

"…It's nothing."

Kairi watched Roxas go into deep thought, quietly realizing what Roxas was saying.

* * *

Roxas scolded me for going to work while he was gone, and I spent the rest of the evening trying to explain to him that I was going to die from leaving the house. He sighed and took out the antibiotic I was supposed to take for the day, urging me to take my medication.

"Fine, fine," I said, giving up. As I went to pour myself a glass of water, I asked, "Hey, do you know what's wrong with Kairi? She's been on the computer all day looking up something about recognizing the signs of…I forgot what it was."

"Mm," Roxas thought to himself a bit, "I honestly don't know what's going on in her head at all, so I'm not the one you should be asking. You're her bestest friend forever-est and all."

I rolled my eyes, swallowing the pill. "You know, ever since Kairi started dating Sora, we haven't been as close as we used to be. In fact, I think it's safe to say you're my best friend now."

"…Everybody seems to think they're best friends with me."

"This is the part where you say 'you're my best friend too,' you know?" I said, crossing my arms.

Roxas shrugged. "I'd be lying if I said I completely saw you as a friend."

My cheeks turned red, me mentally cursing at myself for possibly giving Roxas another reason to think I'm feeling feverish. I couldn't have him worrying more than he already was. "Then, what do you see me as…?"

"…I," Roxas seemed to hesitate a bit before completing his sentence. He shook his head, looking away. "Maybe part pigeon."

Pigeon? Roxas, you…I should be saying this out loud. "Pigeon? Roxas, you…mean…blah! No, stop laughing at me! Ugh…"

I momentarily left a laughing Roxas to go look for the hat I bought at the convention to creep him out. It's been so long since I've seen it, and it was sure to give Roxas a scare. Once I located it in my closet, I went back downstairs to show Roxas. Before I headed back to the kitchen, Kairi stopped me.

"Hey, Naminé, I looked up a lot interesting facts today. A jellyfish is actually ninety-five percent water, and on average, twelve newborns will be given to the wrong patients daily. Seventy-eight percent of us would rather die quickly than live in a retirement home."

And why is she telling me this? "Uh, cool to know? I need to go see Roxas right now, Kairi."

"Only four percent of men ask the parents approval before proposing. Two-thirds of us speed up at a yellow light," Kairi continued on, ignoring my comment. "Most people commit suicide on a Monday, and Saturday is the day with the least number of suicides. One in six boys are sexually abused before the age of eighteen. A family member abuses thirty to forty percent of victims. Over thirty percent of victims never disclose the experience to anyone."

I pressed two fingers against Kairi's lips, trying to silence her. "Great to know, but I'm not really interested in hearing this stuff."

"Just…keep that in mind," she said slowly, walking upstairs.

What was Kairi even looking up on the computer? Before heading the kitchen, I quietly walked toward the computer in the living room, trying to see the site that was open. Kairi had been looking up…signs of sexual abuse? Why would she even be interested in that? Looking at the list, I learned the signs of childhood sexual abuse in adults are insomnia, angry outbursts, trust issues, nightmares of being chased/trapped, low self-esteem, being afraid of sex, post-traumatic stress disorder, and such. Apparently, many boys that had been sexually abused have a fear of being touched, often freezing up or lashing out.

Wait, why was I even looking at this? I shook my head and headed to the kitchen, putting on the hat. Roxas stared at me as I entered the room, his eyes bulging out.

"Ha! I win because this creeps you out, right?" I said, finally feeling victorious.

"Actually, I lied that day."

"Come again?"

"I actually thought you look very cute in it," Roxas smiled, scratching the back of his head as his face became a shade of light pink.

I didn't know whether to feel happy that he thought I was cute or mad that I lost what I thought was an advantage. I quietly fumed, Roxas laughing at me. He stretched him arm out, his hand patting me on the head.

You know how when something hovers over you and you can feel it? I could feel Roxas's hand hesitate as it hovered over my head, him probably still finding some difficulty to touch me.

"Sorry, but I win again," Roxas said with a smile.

My mind suddenly went back to Kairi's random facts about…being abused as a child and how sometimes a family member does it.

"Hey, you're kind of quiet. Are you okay?"

Roxas…he doesn't really like him family too much. That's pretty common in adults, but…doesn't he have insomnia? Doesn't he have nightmares where he feels trapped? Roxas used to see a counselor in high school to help him bring closure on something.

"Earth to Naminé, this is Roxas speaking, and he'd like a reply."

I'm over thinking, aren't I? I tend to over think a lot, and this is just one of those times. I shouldn't make assumptions about Roxas like that, and all these signs could just be a coincidence.

"Ka-boom! The Earth blew up, and the lone survivor, Naminé, still aimlessly floats in space, meeting an alternate alien version of Roxas on Mars, becoming friends with this strange life form. He'd like her to respond to her though."

"…What?" I finally said, pulled out of my thoughts. "You became an alien?"

Roxas nodded, having a look on his face that made it seem like it was obvious. "Astronaut Naminé wouldn't talk to normal Roxas, so Alien Roxas decided to take a shot at it and it worked."

"It did…" I forced a smile, thoughts of what I saw on the Internet still on my mind.

"You okay? You're kind of spacey right now," he frowned as he said this.

Would it be okay to ask him if my theory is correct? I mean, if it's not, no big deal, but if it is…it's still okay, right? It's a part of the past then, and it shouldn't affect our future at all. Wouldn't I make him feel uncomfortable though? Ah…

"Roxas…can I ask you something?"

He shrugged. "Ask away."

"Did…something traumatizing happen to you when you were a child?"

His eyes stayed on me for a while before looking away. "…gee, what was your first clue?"

"I'm just wondering if it's what I think it is, that you were…taken advantage of or something along those lines," I said, running my fingers through my hair. "Maybe someone close to you hurt you or did something without your consent?"

"You're saying I was sexually abused as a child, aren't you?"

"…yeah."

"Well, you're right."

* * *

**A/N**: The only way I could think of to bring it up without making it totally disgusting. In the first draft, there was a lot more cursing and description of it. It also seemed more melodramatic with rain and yelling and such. Eh, this is not my favorite chapter. First time writing on Word in a while (usually uses OpenOffice but I didn't want to go in my room because it was super hot o_o) so you might notice the ellipses is cooler. Um, return of the hat? 8D If you forgot about the hat, it was bought in "A Day At A Convention." Blargh. School's starting in tomorrow for me, so next update may be a bit slower?


	14. A Shattered Image

"Oh my god," was what came out of my mouth after hearing Roxas's confession.

Roxas sighed, crossing his arms. "Yeah..."

"I'm so sorry," I said, unsure of what else to say. "I hope this isn't making you feel uncomfortable or anything talking about this because of how personal this is, and I'm sorry for bringing it up."

He scrunched his forehead, frowning. "I'm not that uncomfortable about this because...I'm talking to you, probably the closest person in my life. Here's the part that's upsetting me: you're looking at me like everyone else did, disgusted and repulsed."

"I'm not...!" I tried to say, but Roxas interrupted me.

"Really?" He remained unconvinced. "Let me put in the way every kid in my high school heard it: the new guy who transferred in used to have sex with his mom _all the time_. He's a motherfucker, and you honestly can say you don't feel disgusted?"

Oh my god, I had the urge to wrap Roxas in my arms and hold onto him tightly. "Roxas, I'm not...it's just...it's the past."

"I wasn't really planning on telling anyone anytime soon, but...I don't want to lie to you if you come and ask me like that. I like what we have here, our relationship right now, and I've assumed that once you know you'll treat me differently and change the dynamic of this relationship," Roxas said, looking away.

"Our relationship isn't going to change," I told him, trying to believe it myself. "It's a thing of the past."

Roxas came closer to me, his expression unreadable. "I hope so."

I tried to reach for his hand to hold, wavering as I attempted to grip it. As I kept a loose hold on him, I knew he and I shared the same feeling at the moment: disappointment.

* * *

I greeted Olette at work, her extremely excited to see me after my short absence. The brunette hugged me tightly, asking if I was healthy enough to be working. I had one more antibiotic to take for today, and I would be good as new. Roxas had went back to living in his apartment, deciding I was healthy enough by now.

"Relax, I'm fine," I told her, smiling. "Did I miss anything big? How is the current project going?"

"You didn't miss much, and the project is going pretty good but we're not sure how to improve it so it can sell better," Olette explained, taking out some rough drafts.

I pointed to the second draft of the four. "This is actually pretty good, but I think if we used negative space, it would give a bit more focus on the object. It would be like saying, 'you have everything, but there's still something missing' and could prompt someone to buy it."

"It seems I made the right choice on the promotion," the brunette responded with a smile. "I'll be sure to bring that up when we go into discussion at four o' clock. Speaking of time, my boyfriend and his best friend are coming to visit today!"

"What's the occasion? Or is he just bringing something you forgot?"

Olette giggled and shook her head. "It's our three year anniversary, and we like to celebrate with random acts of love. I'll wake up to find a new bracelet on my wrist, he'll find a brand new mp3 player in his car, and things of that nature. After knowing Hayner for so long, I've come to figure out what he usually plans on doing and visiting me at work is one of them. But, the presentation always ends up being different."

"Wow, you guys sound like you're really in love after all this time. Don't you guys argue a lot, get physical, or something?" I asked, thinking of Sora and Kairi. "How do you manage to stay together?"

"We love each other," Olette blushed as she said this, looking down at the ground. "Sure, we had fights and maybe took a few breaks, but we always found our way back to each other through thick and thin. We decided to be honest with our feeling and everything else from here on out."

Honesty, eh? "What if him being honest really scares you, not just what he said to you, but the fact he was able to trust you with something so personal? And what about what he actually said? It feels...different. Scary different."

Olette smirked, apparently knowing what I meant. "Your boyfriend, right? Look, if he said something really big, you know he really trusts you. Don't let him think it was a mistake to tell you because if you guys really care about one another, it all works out."

"He's not my..." I started to say before balloons began to fall from the ceiling and a popular love song started playing. "What the...?"

Olette shared my confusion and looked up at the ceiling, only to find a bouquet of flowers falling into her arms. Instantly, she smiled and giggled softly to herself. The elevator next to us opened, revealing a young blond man wearing a vest with baggy camouflage-print pants who held a balloon in his hands.

"Too much?" the man asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked around.

Olette shook her head, trying to suppress her laughter. "A bit over the top, but it definitely beats last year when you just came, gave me a pack of gum, and left. I see definite improvement here." She then turned to me and pointed to the blond. "Naminé, this is Hayner, my awesome boyfriend."

Hayner extended his hand for a handshake. "Hey, I'm Hayner, and to be honest, I think you're hot."

Olette glared at the blond and elbowed him, Hayner groaning in pain. She crossed her arms, frowning. "What the hell was that?"

"We agreed on all honesty, and I thought I'd let you know that I find your friends attractive," Hayner said, rubbing his side. "But I still think you're the hottest girl I'll ever know in my entire life."

Her frown turned into a smile as she hugged him. "You are so lucky you're so cute."

* * *

I saw Roxas waiting for me at the front doors, staring into the sky. I expected to see him listening to his mp3 player, but the memory of it nearly hitting Larxene and smashing into pieces played back in my head on repeat. He was so amazing and incredible at that moment, despite scaring me slightly. When Roxas noticed me, he smiled and beckoned for me to follow him to the car.

"How was work?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Really sweet, actually, with Hayner coming to Olette and all. There was balloons and music, and it was just really sweet to watch," I answered, thinking about the happy couple. "Her friend, Pence, came later with cake too."

Roxas stifled a laugh. "That kind of sounds over the top. And I'm guessing now you want your special guy to do that and even more once you find him?"

"Oh, shut up," I said, lightly elbowing Roxas. Automatically, after realizing what I did, I said quickly, "S-sorry about that! I'm so sorry!"

Roxas stopped in his tracks, looking at me with a confused expression. "...you're apologizing?"

Crap. "I'm sorry for apolo..." My voice trailed off once I noticed Roxas's disappointed expression.

"Let's just go home, and I see you tomorrow."

I screwed up.

* * *

Kairi looked around the crowded dim-lit room, trying to find Selphie. The two had gone clubbing, only to lose each other shortly after entering. The pounding music and the bright lights began to give Kairi a headache, prompting her to find a seat. In the club, she noticed that many of the singles were up dancing while most of the couples sat down together. Sitting alone made her feel out of place with all the couples around her.

"Kairi?" a male voice called out.

She turned, recognizing the voice too well, and saw the man she had dated in the past. His silver hair was longer now, and she noticed he seemed to be taller.

"Riku!" Kairi exclaimed, surprised to see her college boyfriend. She remembered their previous relationship, almost marrying the man before realizing she wasn't ready yet. "What are you doing here?"

Riku smiled and shrugged. "Decided to take the wife out for a night out and we ended up going here tonight."

"Wife? You...got married after all," Kairi said, a bit shocked. "Congratulations to the both of you for staying together and...going through with the wedding. I hope you two are very happy together."

Riku chuckled. "What about you? Have you been seeing anyone lately or anything like that?"

She shook her head. "No one at the moment. I recently broke up with Sora, and it's kind of hard to just jump back into single life, you know?"

"Sora, meaning you guys _finally_ went out?" He asked, eyes wide. "I always had a feeling you had feelings for him, and watching Sora made it obvious he was in love with you. In college, you were a lot more quiet than before in high school."

"Oh, be quiet...the relationship didn't turn out too well anyway – fight after fight, yelling, trying to push him out a window..."

Riku looked Kairi in the eye, catching her by surprise. "You know, thinking back, our relationship wasn't perfect either, and I realized why we didn't make it through."

"We weren't the right people for one another?" Kairi proposed.

"That, and the fact we didn't try with all might to make it work. We gave up way too easily, and when you give up, either they're not the one or you're just too afraid to move forward when you should. You know how I realized I wanted to marry you? You were the only good thing going on in my life, and I thought I should marry you. How did I realize I wanted to marry my wife? No matter what, we always came back to each other and when she wasn't with me, I didn't feel as happy – like she was missing puzzle piece. I was willing to work my butt off to keep her in my life and seeing her smile always seemed to cheer me up, and I knew that she's the one," Riku said, appearing to be thinking back. "If you still love Sora and everything just feels more right when he's around, I'd say give it one more chance."

Kairi was stunned by Riku's words, thanking him for his time. As she left the club, deciding Selphie would have to find her own ride home, she wondered who he ended up marrying. Thinking about marriage, she soon realized that there was an apartment complex close by to the club – Sora's apartment.

"Always came back to one another, huh?" the redhead smiled.

She climbed the stairs and retraced the steps she used to take so often, reaching his door finally. The brunet was surprised to see his ex-girlfriend at this hour, him being dressed in his pajamas. Neither one of them said anything for while, just letting the silence speak for itself.

"...you want to give this another try?" Sora asked, his expression not changing. As Kairi nodded, he responded, "Do you think we can make it through this time? Things...got really intense and...are we even ready?"

Kairi replied with a kiss on the lips.

* * *

I sat at home alone in the dark, dialing Kairi's number to try to find some guidance on what to do. Roxas hasn't talked to me since earlier at work, and I was worried I had completely messed up our friendship. As her phone rang a few times, I leaned against the wall. Once she picked up, I told her about what had happened.

"Naminé, why are you talking to me when you could be talking to Roxas right now? Don't you hate being misunderstood?"

"I do," I responded quietly, not liking Kairi's tone of voice.

"Then why are you still talking to me? Go over to Roxas's place and clear up the misunderstanding right away!" The volume of Kairi's voice rose. "I didn't tell you Roxas's past because I wanted you to run away from him like this. I wanted you two to talk it out because Roxas still seems very traumatized by what happened, I want you to tell him how you feel and be there for him."

I bit my bottom lip, looking outside at the car through the window with thoughts of seeing Roxas in my head. "Thank you, Kairi."

Reaching Roxas's apartment fifteen minutes later, I couldn't help but think of that one dragon story Roxas told me, where two people went out to hunt a dragon who would never come out of his cave until the hunters befriended the beast. When I reached Roxas's door, I knocked hard, trying to get him to hear me. I pressed my ear against the door to listen in, hearing footsteps drawing near. They stopped abruptly, not making a sound after that.

"Roxas?" I called out, my voice becoming weak. "Can I come in?"

No answer.

"Will you please listen to me?"

No answer. This dragon apparently was planning to stay in his cave forever and ever.

"I can't see you, but I know you're there, listening to me like...some stalker, right? This isn't a time to really joke though," I said to the door. "Roxas, I'm not disgusted with you. Okay, the fact your mom did those kind of things to you is...disturbing, but that's all in the past. Just the fact that you were so hurt and violated like that scares me. I want to say the next part to your face, Roxas, so please open the door."

The door didn't budge, to my dismay. I continued to talk in hope he would come out. "Roxas, I've always thought you were amazing, okay? You seemed like some awesome person who came in and saved the day and managed to put a smile on my face. You help me out so much that I feel guilty I haven't done anything for you. I guess I kind of put you on a pedestal after all this time. Sure, there were times when I saw you at your weaker moments, but I pushed those out of my head to keep that image of you. Now that you've told me about what happened, I can't help think of that broken kid in high school who had been traumatized for life. The image was shattered."

I could faintly hear Roxas's footsteps, as if he was leaving and had enough of me. "I'm not done! Although that image is shattered, I realized I like this Roxas more! I like you even more than I already did!" I paused, in disbelief I had admitted that out loud. The sound of the footsteps stopped. "I don't think you're disgusting or worthless because of what you were apart of. In fact, I can understand how you felt slightly. Remember Marluxia? What I meant by we were using each other was that I used him to get over how lonely I felt after my parents death and he used me for sex. I know it's not exactly the same because I had my gain too, but I would always wake up feeling disgusted with myself and disappointed, thinking tomorrow is going to be the last time but never having the courage to say something to anyone. What you went through must have been really scary, but that's what makes you a real person, one with fears and not some idealistic image. Really, I find it admirable that you've come a long way to the point where you seem to be the most sane man in our group. Roxas, whether you've realized it or not, you have accepted us and are letting us in. You react less if we accidentally touch you, and you wash your hands less when we touch you. You're starting to feel safe with us. Although you are still very traumatized, you're getting better, and I really like that about you. I really like you..."

"...apple pie," was what I heard from the other side of the door.

"What?"

The door opened and revealed Roxas, tears beginning to run down his face. The image before me shocked me and I tried to reach my hand to him, only to be tackled and embraced so tightly I thought I was going to die. His body pressed against mine so quickly I fell back, almost falling on the ground. He buried his face into my shoulder, soaking my shirt with his salty, hot tears. I was in a such a state of shock that it took a while to process into my head. Roxas was hugging me.

"I said the word," I heard him whisper quietly.

Once it finally hit me, I felt a smile form on my face. "I thought we agreed on 'the banana king has returned' that day..."

"That was stupid to being with," Roxas said, laughing softly. His voice become quieter. "I push you away sometimes because it's so overwhelmingly warm and...I think of her, and she's literally touched me everywhere...I don't want to push you away, but..."

I returned the hug, wrapping my arms around him. "I'm right here, Roxas. I'm not her."

"I know."

"I'm right here."

* * *

Kairi and Sora looked at me expectantly, apparently waiting for for more of the story. To my surprise, Roxas was right that Sora and Kairi would make up in seven days instead of eight. We three sat in the living room at the house, sipping coffee.

"You honestly want me to believe that nothing else happened between you and Roxas earlier today?" Kairi asked, her eyes wide.

I nodded. "How is that hard to believe? I told Roxas that knowing his secret doesn't disgust me, and we hugged. After that, we had dinner in his apartment, and I went home."

"No!" Sora yelled sharply. "I refuse to believe that's all that happened, Naminé, because Roxas _hugged_ you. To him and his no touching rule, that must be like having sex! You had _sex_ with Roxas."

"I have to agree with Sora here," Kairi said in a very serious tone, nodding.

I could feel my cheeks burning up. "Roxas and I didn't have sex!"

Sora took a sip out of his cup before saying, "So what is your relationship with Roxas now? You guys are really close now to the point where you guys act like a standard couple without kissing or sex, so can we get this whole will-they-won't-they thing over with?"

"Sora and I want to record the first kiss you guys share," Kairi beamed. "Knowing you guys, kisses probably won't happen often, so we have to record one when we have the chance.

Or you could not record it all, creepers.

"Well, I don't really...know what our relationship is right now either," I said nervously. "I accidentally let it slip that I like him, and he responded with a hug..."

Kairi clapped her hands. "Then they're a couple!"

"No, as Roxas's best friend, I can safely say Roxas's thinking is very different and that doesn't have to mean they're a couple," Sora said, crossing his arms.

"How much more obvious can it get than that, Sora?" the redhead asked, rolling her eyes. "Hugging is probably equivalent to sex in Roxas world. Roxas doesn't seem to be a friends with benefits kind of guy."

Sora then pointed straight at me, causing me to jump up slightly. "You have to define the relationship by tomorrow!"

Define the relationship?

* * *

**A/N**: And we're approaching the end soon. Most of the drama has been covered already so expect mostly lighthearted chapters? Who did Riku marry? Don't expect an answer because I don't even know. I usually like shipping him with Xion, but she's bit old for him in this story so you can use your imagination for that.

I actually can't think of anything else to say right now, so see ya next time folks?


	15. A Defintion

At first, I refused to have "the talk." It just seemed so unnecessary at the time, and don't relationships usually define themselves over time? Who needs some verbal definition?

I do,_ please_.

At a party Kairi and Sora dragged us too, _everyone_ seemed to be paired up, introducing the person beside them as their spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, soulmate, and even sex buddy (as odd as it seemed to me that they openly announced that). When it came for Roxas and I to introduce ourselves, it was...awkward.

"I'm Roxas, and this is Naminé," he said, gesturing to me.

Yuna smiled and nodded. "Your...?

Confused, Roxas repeated her statement. "My...?"

"What type of relationship do you two have? Are you two going out?" Tidus, the man beside her, asked.

Roxas was about to answer but was interrupted by Selphie making a pointless announcement that all the guests seemed interested in. Once the announcement was over, the two left us alone and the conversation was never spoken of again. That night, it ran through my head constantly: what was our relationship? Where were we?

* * *

"Are you actually looking at Roxas's headbook profile to check his relationship status? When did he even make one anyway?" Kairi questioned.

I indeed was sitting in front of the computer looking at his profile, checking his relationship status. Unfortunately, it seemed he marked it as hidden as it was not shown. Kairi gave me an 'I told you so' look before leaving the room to get a glass of water.

"What? Roxas has a headbook and he hasn't added me? Some best friend!"

The voice belonged to Sora, who seemed to pop up right next to me. Seeing him out of the blue caused me a shriek, slamming the keyboard and typing a random set of letters and numbers as my status. Later that day, I found that twenty-five of my friends "liked" it.

"Sora, how the hell do you always get into this house? We don't even give you a key for Pete's sake!" I shouted.

The brunet man shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just...here."

"Does Kairi let you in?

"I don't think she knows I'm here yet."

Oh my god.

* * *

Roxas and I signed up for some classes together, me hoping to see what he would put down for the portion of the registration paper that asked about his relationship status. However, when I got the that area, I saw he checked "decline to state."

"You should be honest on these papers," I advised, nudging him.

"Well, I _honestly_ don't really want to tell my relationship status to people I don't know. Why would they even need it for a pottery class?"

I struggled to think of a proper argument, ending up with this: "You never know! What if it's the end of world because of an alien invasions and they check the papers, see your 'decline to state', and think you're hiding some sort of secret and abduct you? You _have_ to put down something for that area or you'll come back pregnant with a half alien-half human inside of you."

"...please stop talking."

Failed.

* * *

"So there's a psycho axe crazy stalker with a crush following me and won't leave me alone unless I tell my relationship status?" Roxas repeated, his eyebrow raised. "Well, looks like it'll be another sleepless night for me then..."

Roxas and I sat in his apartment, him glancing at the windows to make sure they were closed. See, I thought maybe scaring him into saying where he thought we were would be the way to go, but now I was afraid how paranoid Roxas might get.

"Theoretically!" I exclaimed, feeling bad I may have been giving Roxas paranoia fuel. "So what do you tell her when she finally ties you up and hangs you over a tank of sharks?"

"No, no, no, I wouldn't even let it get that far. In fact, I think I'm going to call the police right now."

Failed.

* * *

At work, I received grief from Olette about Roxas. Despite always referring to Roxas as my boyfriend, she knew very well how slow our relationship actually was after the countless times I ranted to her about Roxas.

"Just tell him you want to know where your relationship is already! Goodness, it's been a little over a year since I first met you at the post office, and you two still haven't made much progress?" Olette sighed.

I held my hand up. "Um, we have made progress – from no touching at all to _hugging_. That's really far in the book of Roxas."

"I hugged Hayner the first time I met him!"

"Well, Roxas is different!"

Olette and I walked into the break room to take seat and have some coffee. As Olette searched for the cream, she continued her attempt to persuade me to ask Roxas clearly for an answer. Sitting down, she put on her infamous serious business face.

"Try asking him out on date."

* * *

I must really suck at asking someone out on a date. See, my exact words were: "Do you want to see a movie with me this weekend?" A perfectly normal way of asking in my opinion. Roxas said yes, and I was bouncing off the walls kind of happy. I went through the cheesy chick flick shopping montage for crying out loud.

Well, it wasn't a date. Roxas misinterpreted my line as going to the movies together as friends...with other friends. Therefore, when I dashed to the movie theater, I was greeted by Xion, Axel, Sora, Kairi, Olette, Hayner, Pence, and Selphie. I didn't even get to sit next to Roxas, as he ended up sitting on the far corner with Xion and Axel. Of course, this had put me in a sour mood.

And of course the sulky me later found out I missed the short moment where Roxas took a good look at me across the room and smiled.

* * *

"Kairi!" I called as I entered the house after I tried my skydiving plan. "The plan failed...again."

Strangely, the house seemed completely empty, utterly silent in every corner. Sighing, I headed up stairs to go to my room, only to see Sora exiting the upstairs bathroom. Catching me off-guard, I screamed, stepped back, and ended up rolling down the stairs and slamming into the door of our downstairs bathroom.

"Oh shit, Naminé, when did you get home?" I could hear Sora's voice get louder as his footsteps drew nearer.

"Dear lord, did you move in yet because this is getting _really_ scary! You keep popping up out of nowhere and we haven't even given you the key to this house yet," I groaned.

Sora shook his head. "I'm moving in tomorrow, and Kairi's getting the key made the day after."

"Is she home?"

"Sadly no, as I have been recently informed after two hours of waiting here that she was 'running late' and won't be home till eleven," Sora let out a sigh. "If you need someone to talk to, I'd gladly help and act as a substitute Kairi for you, minus the boobs and red hair."

I sat up, shaking my head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm pretty sure I'll bore you with my complaints on how I can't think of an indirect way to ask him if we're together or not."

"Naminé, as a friend, I want you to know that you're boring _everybody_, not just Kairi. You're like a shojo manga heroine who takes two hundred chapters to finally confess to the guy she likes but worse." How nice. "Here's a tip on talking to a guy from a guy: be direct. Don't beat around the bush and talk about how nice the weather is when you want to discuss something important. I mean, don't subtly hint that you want a huge celebration over some small praise you got from your boss and blow up on us because we just didn't get the tiny hints, and when we do throw the celebration, it's just _too late_!"

"...are we still talking about me?"

Sora chuckled and shrugged. "Sorry about that, but I hope I was able to help you out even a little bit."

"I think you did," I replied, smiling. I then pulled him in for a hug. "Thank you, Sora."

"You're welcome."

"You know," I began, "this is the first one-on-one we've had in a while, isn't it? I'm usually busy with Roxas, and you're busy with Kairi and finding ways to pop up out of nowhere."

Grinning, he replied, "I like to think teleportation is my superpower. You know, you're a lot more social than when we first met. I see you calling up Roxas, talking about Olette to Kairi, and you were talking to people more naturally at the party we went to earlier. When we first met, you hid behind Kairi the entire time and could barely say anything to anyone who introduced themselves to you. I don't know how you got together with Marly."

"I remember all that. You're easy to talk to, so becoming your friend wasn't much trouble. Although, I think I was still bit antisocial with you at times. I can't believe Kairi actually thought I had a crush on you before when I was trying to set you two up!"

"She did? That explains some things then," Sora seemed to be thinking to himself for a bit. "Did you succeed in setting us up?"

"Think a little more, Sora."

"Wow, so you guys really did help us get together? I had a hunch, but it's still strange to find out it was true," Sora chuckled. "Thank you, Naminé, for giving us a push. Ah, but now I feel guilty that I didn't help speed up your relationship with Roxas very much."

I smiled. "You've done enough."

* * *

And then I finally told him. Afraid of Sora randomly popping up in the middle of our conversation, I chose to tell Roxas at his place. We both sat on his couch, me explaining that the odd things we have been doing were for a reason.

I took in a deep breath, finally deciding to say what had been on my mind. "I want to know the definition of our relationship."

Roxas stared at me with confusion in his eyes. "This...that is what this is about? I...why can't you just ask more directly like a normal person, idiot? Is this why we took that stupid pottery class? So you could check what I put for relationship status? That was a waste of time and money! And skydiving...don't get me started on that. You...you're a weirdo, you know that?"

"I do," I replied, shrugging, "but at least I'm not as insane and awkward as the me you first met."

Roxas shook his head, apparently disagreeing. "You haven't changed too much."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow. "The old me probably would have used movies as an example to get you to define our relationship, and seeing how a lot of characters confess when they think the love interest or he himself is dying, I would have made you think you were dying so you'd shout that you loved me."

"You would try to _kill_ me?"

"No, I would make you _think_ you're being killed off. There's a huge difference."

"I wonder if you'll ever be _normal_." He let out a sigh before looking me right in the eye. "But I don't really want a normal girlfriend, do I?"

"G-g-girlfriend?" I stuttered, my cheeks turning tomato red.

"What, did you think I went around to every woman in this town, hugging them, holding hands with them, and taking them out to places? I took a pottery class with you, Naminé. I don't do that for _anyone. _And how can we forget skydiving?"

When he puts in it in those terms, it really did sound like we're already dating, just like Olette always told me. Although, just hearing him say it out loud brought a smile to my face and I leaned in closer to him.

"So you like me?" I asked, wanting to hear him say more things that would make my heart beat faster.

I could see Roxas's cheeks turn pink. "D-don't ask so directly!"

"You told me to be more direct instead of using crazy plans."

"Shut up!" Roxas snapped, looking away immediately. "I...I like you, okay? At first, you were really annoying and I thought you were very stupid. You still might be slightly stupid actually...but that's not the point! On the other hand, the places you took me to and odd schemes were...unexpectedly fun, and I learned I really liked spending time with you. It was just..._easy_, and you were always doing something entertaining that made me smile. A one-woman show, right? Of course I realized I was attracted to you, but I don't think I ever realized how serious it was until the other day in front of this apartment." Pause. "But considering you're thinking of killing me, that is kind of putting me off."

In the words of my headbook status: ec y89y89wepdfjahr5. "I would have made you _think_ that you were being killed off! There's difference!"

"There really isn't."

"I'm not a murderer, Roxas!"

Roxas let a chuckle and shrugged before speaking. "Although I don't completely believe you, I guess I'm willing to take that chance that one day I'll wake up with a knife in front of my face. If my psycho axe crazy stalker with a crush is you, it bothers me less."

"I'm not axe crazy!" I argued, pouting. "I'm not stalker either!"

"Sure, sure." Roxas was now standing and turned to me, lightly tugging on my hand. "Let's go."

After a short pause, I spoke. "Where to?"

"With you," Roxas said quietly, "anywhere is fine."

* * *

The next year seemed to go by fast, all of our lives changing at their own pace. A month after Roxas and I became a couple, Olette announced her engagement with Hayner, their marriage ceremony occurring this summer. Kairi, not comfortable with marriage or kids, stayed with Sora as his girlfriend. Both have seemed to get over most of their insecurities, especially Sora who was no long the crazy jealous boyfriend he once was. Riku had recently called saying his wife was pregnant with their first child. Thinking about all that's happened, I think the changes that happened were good. Like pigeons, superheroes, butterflies, and even dragons, we took the baby steps we needed to take before flying into the sky.

How was my relationship with Roxas? It was going at it's own pace.

"Hey," I said, poking Roxas's arm, "did you know Larxene was a client of mine today? Apparently, she's a CEO of a popular site on the internet wanted some advertisements to attract new users."

Roxas and I were sitting on the couch of his apartment where I now lived. Of course, when I moved in, we had to rearrange the place, mostly moving some of the dragons out of his room and making his apartment look more like a home.

"Was she as bitchy as before?" Roxas asked, possibly recalling his encounter with her in the past.

Shrugging, I answered, "A little, but it was nice to see her again and know she's doing okay after Xemnas fired her." To change the subject, I added, "Have you called Xion yet?"

"Yes, and apparently she is loved at school that the entire senior class threw her a party during lunch. She also announced that she adopted a child not too long ago," Roxas replied, taking a sip of the beer he had in his hand. "She'd be a good mom."

"I bet she would," was my response. After watching Roxas stealing glances at the wall, I asked, "Where we put your dragon poster still bothering you?"

Roxas nodded, standing up and pointing at the wall it was taped too. "It just doesn't seem right like when it was in our room before! Now the TV is blocking is from this angle and the sun shines at that exact spot every afternoon. It's bugging the hell out of me. Why couldn't we leave it in our room?"

"We already have around twenty posters in there, and we needed room for a calendar," I tried to remind him.

"It still bugs me."

Sighing, I got up and poked Roxas's forehead. "We'll move it again, alright?"

"Hey," Roxas said as he rubbed his forehead, "stop with the poking."

"Alright, can I kiss you instead?" I smiled.

Roxas turned away. "Idiot, you don't need to ask every time. And how come you ask permission on kissing and freely poke me without my consent at all? You're such a weirdo."

And our lips met.

* * *

**A/N:** ...yeah, I didn't think I would end it this chapter either, hence why the last chapter said 'expect lighthearted chapter**_s_**' at the end. What's worse is that this chapter is so short! I want it to 4,000, darn it. I planned to lengthen the story by having Naminé spend a chapter trying to confess, only to chicken out at the end. Then, she'd be offered a job out of town. The next chapter would be a parody of a Race For Your Love moment. Even if it was a parody, it was way too cheesy, and the decisions they would make would be stupid. I suffered from slight block and couldn't decide how to continue to story, eventually deciding to just end it here. I was also at a loss how to go about writing this chapter and how crazy Nami's plans would be. For how it is right now, I don't love how this chapter came out, but I don't absolutely hate it.

And so, WMF is over. I really liked how it turned out, and it was nice to write something that was mostly happy for change (aside from Roxas's past). Of course, since I'm marathoning Degrassi to please my Degrassiholic friend Lauren, I will probably influenced by that show to write drama. WMF's comedy was influenced by me marathoning several sitcoms. I don't know if I'll start up a new story soon since school is kicking my butt right now. Haha.

Thank you all for reading, reviewing, favoriting (not a real word xD), and all! It makes me happy to see how many people like this fic. Thank you for your time!


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